David Hockney – A Retrospective

David Hockney’s Nichols Canyon is an exploration of the richness and beauty of color.  At first glance, it may seem as though the viewer has been transported to the tropics. Lush shades stand out in a way that usually may only be found in a warm environment which is sustained daily by the sun and rain. Hockney has created a Fauvist composition that delights the senses. The technique used to create this painting ensures that his choice of shade cannot be misinterpreted. Each hue remains fairly undiluted, reflecting the vivid scene that the painter sees both before him and in his mind’s eye.

Nichols Canyon is a real region. It exists in Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles County, California. It starts at Hollywood Blvd. on its south end and snakes its path north into the slopes underneath Mulholland Drive. The environment created by Hockney on canvas is warm and welcoming. Nichols Canyon has a characteristic, year-round, spring-bolstered brook and waterfall more than 60′ high, and a few normal and man-made little waterfalls.