yourself and have a passion for what you do is a completely different realm of thinking.
Such is the thinking of Glen McCune. From the time he steps out his back door he is
greeted by the sites and sounds of his farm in Northern Michigan. One cannot go too far
without coming into contact with the natural world. The raised stone flower beds or the
herbs, trees and shrubs. Or maybe it is the injured animals brought by people to McCune
for rehabilitation. Every morning it is a continuous dance of change. from the annual
weeds and wildflowers, to the shifting light through the tree branches , to the birds dusting
themselves in the afternoon sun. Such are some of the small, quiet details which draw his
attention. He loves it. He has the passion to pursue these, which most times results in a
drawing or painting.
It is here in the drawing and painting that the passion seems to run the deepest. At
times, McCunes' paintings are an accumulated recollection of what he feels towards a
particular subject, be it mammals, birds or plants. Other times they are glimpses of the
world, a combination of opposites which make a united whole. The compositions are at
times familiar and others suprising, they are structure and emotion in balance. They all
seem to give a fresh look to some very familiar surroundings. McCunes' paintings seem
to be produced through the gathering of different, powerful forces in their right
proportions that fight for the balance. Whether it is a detailed view of a meadow in bloom,
a winter-scape of conifers loaded with snow or a seemingly simple close-up of a bird, each
has the ability to bring forth the essence of what is being portrayed. And no matter how
he might try to keep himself out, and let the paintings work on their own, there is a thread
that runs through each one that makes his paintings uniquely his own.
After growing up in a small town in Ohio, McCune made his way to Northern
Michigan, first as a teacher, gradually the art began to take up more of his time.
Throughout much of this time, including his college breaks, he traveled somewhat
extensively. These trips took him across America both east and west, including the
Canadian Prairie Provinces, the Yukon Territory and repeated trips throughout Alaska.
Though he is continually intrigued by these major trips, he knows that if he never left his
backyard, with its array of subject matter and kaleidoscope of colors, forms and textures,
he would have an inexhaustible pool of material to fill his paintings. His prints and
paintings are sold to buyers and collectors across the United States.
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