San Diego artist, J. Morse found himself in the wilds of Alaska in May of 2002 and found it to be a fantastic place to be inspired. “The complete serenity and cleanliness of nature speaks to the soul more than any cultural experience can hope to. The entire land is set aside from people because their aversion to the bitter cold and the 3 month-long night in the dead of winter.”

When summer rolls around, however, Morse found Alaska to be the perfect place to get in touch with nature. “To paint anything which is located up there will have a hint of the solitude and enormity of the place.

“Morning in Ninilchik is an example of 2 ascepts of Alaska.”

“The first is the constant renewal that almost every cold climate experiences each year. Alaska and other far north locals just experience it to a greater extent. I wanted to get across the feel of morning and the idea that this was the first really nice day of the year.

“The gentleman in the middleground is out to mow his lawn. There was hardly any grass, but he was determined to be outside and to be mowing his lawn. It is pure speculation, but I imagine he had been waiting for that day for quite some time.

“The other aspect that I wanted to get across in this was the solitary nature of the great north.

“Many people who move to Alaska are interested in retreating from the busy cities and the crime and corruption and pollution that come along with it. But when you leave the cities and the places where people want to live, you obviously leave people themselves and become almost a recluse.”

The work on Alaska continues with another painting set in Ninilchik set for release by spring 2003.

the State of Art Archive