Hearts Eternal– At Little Gems
When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine
If I’d been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four
–Paul McCartney, When I’m 64
This is another of the new small pieces included in the Little Gems show, now hanging at the West End Gallery. This little 2″ by 4″ painting is titled Hearts Eternal and is what I call one of my Baucis & Philemon paintings based on the couple from a Greek myth that I have detailed here many times before.
Being that it’s a favorite theme to revisit and that we’re less than a week from Valentine’s Day, this little piece seemed a natural fit for the Gems show. Of course, the dominant feature of this painting is the magenta-red mound from which the intertwined trees arise. I leave it to the viewer to interpret this but for me, it’s as though they are atop a red beating heart.
Along with that magenta-red heartmound, there’s lot that I like in this small piece. It packs a wallop for the little space it occupies. It’s one of those pieces that would make a great large work if I could scale everything up in size without losing any of the effect of the smaller piece.
That’s a lot more difficult than you might imagine. Things that work small don’t always translate well as they grow in size. But sometimes they do, and that potential is one of the added benefits I get from doing this small work. These pieces always spark a lot of the work that comes in the months that follow.
Here’s a song that sort of fits the painting and the fact that Valentine’s Day is nearing. This is When I’m 64 from the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney when he was a mere 14 years old, one of the first songs he wrote. As someone who has been married forever and who has lost my fair share of hair, this song has taken on added significance for me as the years stack up.
Redtree Times 