Landscape with the upper two-thirds a light purple /brown and the lower third is a brown and white landscape with trees and a path, some of the trees in the background are light purple.The first of six process proofs.

Stephen Duren attended the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1970s, and always favored working outside, directly from nature. During these periods of pleinair painting, he absorbed countless textures and patterns from the landscape, including that particular quality of light that is unique to California. This visual vocabulary became the foundation for his painting, moving from realism to abstraction. He was inspired by many European artists from the 1800s, including Constable, Corot, Corbet, Sisley, Van Gogh and Monet.