This is a small oddity titled Elvis in the Wilderness from a series that I called Outlaws, first shown in 2006 and a series I will address more in future posts. They were all fairly small pieces, usually 4 to 6″ square and were all much darker in nature and in appearance than my normal work. They were, however, an extension of the faces that I would draw in my high school years so for me they were not a drastic change. They were all part of me. For many longtime viewers they were a sharp turn away from the style and light of my representative work. Many approached me at the show at the Principle Gallery that year asking if this was a new direction and would it mark the end of the landscapes. I explained that this was just another aspect of one person, that while I do show myself through my work I am only showing small facets of my whole at any given time. Snapshots, if you will.
My paintings often represent who I am at any given point in time but sometimes they are more aspiration than reality. I long for calmness and peace, in the world and in myself. I desire a strong and brave outlook, to have the wisdom of the ages. I want to shed my fears aside and live boldly. Unfortunately, these wishes sometimes remain just that– wishes.
But so long as these aspirations remain, there is hope for more light and less darkness. Like Elvis in the Wilderness, sometimes one struggles to find a way to the light.
Redtree Times 