I don't know if it happens to other artists but sometimes I go through periods where I think a lot about painting but just can't get myself to sit down and put brush to canvas. Of course, there have been ample excuses to explain my long absence: a house move in the summer. extraordinary work events (nothing bad!), overseas travel - need I say more?
As I have done in the last year or so, after every break from painting I restart with a big enough abstract to provide room for unfettered brushwork. Dreamworld is a culmination of the various techniques I have been using for my abstract work.
The canvas was prepped with a heavy coat of gesso. Nothing beats laying on thick creamy gesso with a large knife and pushing it around the canvas! Once this was dry I gave it a light sanding to knock down the highest areas then began to layer on primarily reds and blues with various sized brushes. The finished piece still shows that direction of brush strokes was either vertical or sideways because I wanted to reinforce the square shape of the canvas.
Layers of red and blue glazes were laid on until I had the basic structure of the painting. I then used iridescent copper paint to add highlights that were left untouched in some places and scrubbed hard into the canvas in other places. The corners of the canvas were darkened with mixtures of browns and blacks made from primary colors. This helped to define the focal point of the painting.
Dreamworld, Acrylic on canvas, 36"x36", NFS
In viewing a landscape, real or represented by a painting or photograph, one "reads" the elements by examining landmarks and categorical references (sky, land, water, etc) to form sense of what is being conveyed. When a reference parameter is changed or typical landscape features minimized, it can appear as if the landscape could represent any number of possible scenes.
Adrift has a razor sharp and straight horizon line suggesting that one might be looking at a seascape. Yet the foreground has a curious mix of yellows, greens and darks that could be endless fields or greenish-blue ocean waves! No other reference exists in the picture to guide one's interpretation thus allowing imagination to take over. The scene can be whatever the viewer wants it to be.
Adrift, Acrylic on canvas board, 16"x20, NFS
Those of us blessed with normal vision are bombarded with images every waking moment. But a scant few of these actually make a memorable impression. I imagine the images that are meaningful enough to be recalled are unique for each of us even if we see the same common scenes.
Afloat is inspired by the endless bands of color that can be seen from an airplane window at sunrise and sunset. Because of the high perspective there is often no clear anchor point with which to orient oneself. Some color displays (such as when flying the polar route from the US to the far east during the summer) can be so spectacular and prolonged as to remain in memory forever.
PS: The slight glare on the surface is simply my error in taking the photo after applying the acrylic sealer.
Afloat, Acrylic on canvas, 18"x24", $100
