Sealing the Crevice, 1970
Lots of students get trapped in the effort to be original. After fifty million paintings have been painted you can see that it is impossible to be highly original. There is always precedent. Who would want to be that original anyway? A better intent is to see that one's work is truly one's own — an honest expression of deep personal feelings. The whole history of art, which can't help but affect one, will be filtered through your own personality to produce a sort of original statement.
— Fletcher Martin.
Fletcher Martin visited Reclamation sites in the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region and the California-Great Basin Region during 1970. He created a series of artworks as he travelled between Reclamation sites, depicting major dams and impressive rock formations through watercolor and ink paintings. Fletcher has a distinct angular style that repeats lines to create various patterns through his work. Rapid, short lines repeat after one another in the same direction to build up the shapes of shadowed rocks and clouds. To add color to his works, Fletcher used either watercolor or oil paint. His color palette was limited, allowing his linework and composition to be the focal point of his work. His speed and technique aided him as he completed numerous works for each of the sites he visited.