This week I’ve been heavily focusing here on new work from my next show which opens at the Principle Gallery on June 10th. I was going to move to something other today but as I sat here contemplating what to write about, this piece just completely swallowed my attention, making me forget about anything else. I suppose that’s as strong a sign of validation for a piece of work as anything.
This painting has a feeling of total contentment for me. Nirvana. In fact, I call this piece, a 14″ by 24″ image on illustration board, Serene One.
There’s a wondeful golden glow to this piece, a radiance in the surface that I often hope for in my work but seldom feel is completely attained. It’s not something that I can produce at will. It just shows itself periodically, a tantalizer, a glimpse of where the work might take me if only I put myself- mind and spirit- completely into it.
This search for this radiance is not unlike the quest and desire for the actual serenity it represents. That may be the greatest benefit of my job as a painter, the fact that it allows me to search for this contentment in my work, the same sort that I seek in myself.
I could say much more about this painting but I think what I’ve said is enough. This piece is well beyond my words.
Redtree Times 