Maturity is that time when the mirrors in our mind turn to windows and instead of seeing the reflection of ourselves we see others.
–Anonymous
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This is a new piece for my West End Gallery show, Islander, that opens on July 26th. I am calling this painting, a 12″ by 36″ canvas, Mirrors and Windows.
It didn’t start with this title or the quote cited above in mind but as it progressed the lakes and sun/moon (your choice, although I am personally seeing a sun here) began to remind me of mirrors and the blocks of the field reminded me of windows. The terrain took on a pop or cartoon-like quality as though I were looking at a wavy building with curving windows and mirrors attached to its side. The vibrant colors really accentuated this feeling.
I found myself looking at this piece quite often in the studio, trying to ascertain what it was that was pulling me in. As I looked, I began to be more aware of the road running through which signified to me our life’s journey. We spend our lives looking in mirrors and out windows, living in reflections of ourselves and the outer world.
There must be some perfect balance in this. Somewhere. Somehow. And maybe that is what the quote at the top here infers, that we reach a point where we know who and what we are and turn away from mirrors and begin to look for windows in which we can expand our vision of the outer world and gain greater wisdom.
Perhaps this message is too much to ask from a painting that at first speaks with the look of a comic book. I guess you should judge a book by the cover…
This painting seems to have an unusual texture. How is it done? Do you get the texture in the underpainting and then paint over it? It doesn’t look like palette knife. It looks like it was painted on paper that was wadded up tightly and then straightened back out. Interesting effect.
I spend a lot of time prepping the surface with layers of gesso. Here’s a link to a post from back in 2008 that describes it a bit. Hope this helps you see how it’s done.
On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 1:20 PM, Redtree Times
I was reminded of this, from Thoreau: “A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”
You can hardly ever go wrong with Thoreau! Thanks…
On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 5:34 PM, Redtree Times
His sky technique reminds me of yours.
I have always admired Granville Redmond’s work. He deserves more attention.
On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 6:12 PM, Redtree Times
I just happened to learn that the Spanish word mirador, or observation point, has the same root as the English word “mirror”. In one case we look past ourselves, in the other our self is reflected back. Very interesting.
I see still your windows/mirrors primarily as portholes. 😉