“Marc Bohne’s paintings have a remarkable aesthetic that, on one level, has nothing to do with his subjects. There is a radical simplicity to his shapes and compositions. Regardless of the many tiny strokes of the grasses and leaves, or the depth of the space, everything in his paintings is organized into no more than a few primary shapes of varying size and proportion. It is these primary shapes that strike us first. While one part of the mind may react to the surface stories – the mood of the light, the majesty of the wheat fields – another part touches the still, quiet place within us.”
Mitch Albala, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice
“There is no fat in Marc Bohne’s work. Marc is a realist painter whose imagery and compositions are both strong and spare. Much like Hemingway’s writing, Marc’s paintings show how to get the most from the least, how to prune imagery, how to multiply intensities and how to tell nothing but the truth in a way that allows for telling more than the truth. The silence of a lean sky, the folds of land and elements of landscape each build on each other to create a sense of the whole more meaningful than its parts."
Kent Lovelace, Painter (1953-2017), Pacific Northwest Artist and Master Lithographer
“The smaller landscapes, that appear to have been made quickly from life have an immediacy in his struggle to captures the light but retain a refined color sensibility for the painting itself, not just descriptive color to confirm what we already know. What really impressed me was the inventiveness of his compositions, the careful organization and placement of the large shapes which emphasize abstract design. These don’t just seem like formal constructs, they have a look of real life but also the touch and temperament that evokes a mood and a sense of place. It is wonderful to see such well-painted landscapes that also brings such a modern sensibility.”
Larry Groff, Writer
http://paintingperceptions.com/featured-posts/marc-bohne
“I have a number of outstanding contemporary painters, and even among them he is recognized as a painter’s painter. His work appeals to a more sophisticated kind of collector. Each piece by Marc is a little gem, it doesn’t matter whether his painting was inspired by a California landscape or not. It’s his style that is unforgettable.”
Gail Harvey, Gail Harvey Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Where some may take a literal approach to beauty, Bohne sees it manifested in emotion written large across the faces of people, places, and things he paints. He sees whirring vibrations of color; ineffable shapes and patterns; visceral sensations that rise in the light but fade into eternal shadow.In contrast to many who allow ordinary scenes to pass through their lives unnoticed, Bohne finds a reason to pause before them. His oil paintings make the world seem larger. “
Todd Wilkinson, Writer, The Back Of Beyond, Southwest Art
“The essence of something—whether a work of art or a human—is measured by its presentation of truth; by its veracity as defined by an innate and, really, old-brain knowledge that knows the difference between contrived and passionate. Marc’s works are anciently true. They are as uncontrived and unadorned as a cave painting. They are passionate in its most dynamic and, like a dormant volcano, restrained sense.”
Lacy Wilkinson, Writer and Filmmaker
"One of the (many) reasons I struggle to paint outside is that I get so danged overwhelmed by everything. There’s just too much beautiful and interesting stuff out there. Too danged much potential. I go out there, I get god-smacked by the majesty and distracted by the details, and then I end up with an indecisive composition. It’s easy to underestimate the editing it takes to make “simple” landscape paintings. Marc Bohne is a master of simplification. Notice his massing (grouped and simplified forms). He makes it look as if it was the obvious choice, but if you’ve stood in our Northwest landscape with the intention of painting you know how complicated all those editing choices can be."
Ruthie V., Writer for The Seattle Artists League
"When I was a young art student (quite a bad one) I wanted to paint something that would impress my grandparents. In those days, people liked “weathered” barns. You’d get a catch in your throat every time you saw some decrepit old building on the highway, especially if it had a pitched roof. So I slaved away at a rendition of our garage, a reeking, fall-down yellow building full of mice. But my painting showed it from a certain distance. Sure enough, my grandfather loved it. He said, “That’s perfect, I remember that barn.” It’s not a barn, grandfather, it’s a garage. “Yes, and inside that window is right where you did your science experiment with the mouse. It’s beautiful.” That’s sentiment, as pure as it gets. But landscape painters have often found more subtle ways to exploit unearned feelings, e.g., happy trails, platonic wildflowers, anecdotal mountains. You look at a painting by Marc Bohne and you don’t recognize your garage or a Kodak vista point, but you’re emotionally moved, often by an almost anonymous landscape. No false memories are invoked. The land suggests what I called, as a child, secret hiding places. There are no hooks from which to hang your old assumptions."
Dennis Jarrett, Art Writer, Santa Fe New Mexico
"I’ve admired his work on the web for a number of years, and had it bookmarked for inclusion on Lines and Colors, and I’m frankly surprised I haven’t featured him before now.
Bohne is wonderfully skillful in his depictions of foliage and other landscape elements as masses of value and color, using suggestion, finessed control of edges and just enough texture and detail to have your eye fill in the rest as naturalistic.
Many of his compositions are atmospheric, both in terms of planes of distance and in terms of emotional resonance."
Charley Parker, "Lines And Colors" - Category: Gallery and Museum Art