By Victoria Starbuck

The painting is sharp and clear. Though the artist has not drawn a line in years, the edges of color appear perfectly straight as the image is projected onto the screen of the Weatherspoon Auditorium. The moon hangs in the sky as a central focus point while two men bring an end to their long day in a quiet town. “Man Walking Home in a Landscape” showcases Craig Hood’s ability to create distinct images while creating a film that causes the viewers to feel as if they are looking at a distant memory of a past that they do not remember.

Hood is skilled at creating atmospheric images depicting landscapes on hazy days. The blue toned images appear as if the mist has just begun to lift after the break of day and the sun has yet to break through the clouds.

In addition to his paintings, the exhibition at the Weatherspoon showcases Hood’s drawings as well. These sketches take him about ten minutes to complete and have a similar atmosphere as the landscape paintings that create a foggy image.

Graphite drawings became important to Hood when his daughter was young because they enable him to continue to create works while spending time at home with his child. Though Hood is skilled at creating landscapes, they are not what stand out for him.

“Figure images are most important to me,” stated the artist during his presentation. They provide him with a way of studying various humans and the choices that shape their lives. In “Harlequin’s Proposal,” the characters each depict a separate storyline. The two mechanics, recreated from “Man Walking Home in a Landscape,” depict the working class as they stand in the doorway of a garage. In the foreground are gothic teenagers walking along a railroad track, depictions of people who Hood has often viewed from his studio in New Hampshire. Though they are a group, one female lags behind out of uncertainty for the path she has chosen to follow. In the background stands the harlequin in his garish outfit awaiting a response from the uncertain female to his invitation to join him.

Later, the harlequin reappears in “Harlequin Family on the 4th of July.” He stands with his wife as the central focus of the image, but the addition of a flipping daughter, swimming son and a plethora of knickknacks creates a chaotic look. The harlequin and his wife appear cool and collected as if trying to cover up the hectic life they lead. For Hood, this picture represents “the tensions that a real family has in it.”

“Hobos With a Baby” carries on the family motif. This oil on linen painting began as a study of the homeless people Hood observed in his daily life. Unsatisfied with the emptiness created when the hobos possessed nothing but their beer cans, Hood sat one in a chair and placed a baby in his arms. The other figures in the image prepare formula, read books on caring for children, and hang the linens. Commenting on the irony of the image Hood states, “When you become a parent you get decapitated, but I think it grows back better.”

Through this image, Hood is able to inspire compassion within the viewer for the observer recognizes a quality of care that is so often forgotten when passing by the homeless in everyday life.

Hood has an extensive history of exhibiting his work. He is often inspired by observations he makes in his hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In addition to working in his studio, Hood is employed as an arts professor at the University of New Hampshire. The presentation given on Thursday provided the public with the artist’s perspective on his work and exhibition. As the Spring 2015 Falk Visiting Artist, Craig Hood’s works will be on exhibition in the Weatherspoon until April 19.