Redtree Times

House of Blues – Coming to Principle Gallery, June 2025

She left me here with nothing, waiting here for something
Something I could believe in
Some were born to win the game, some were born to lose
And they live their lives every night in the house of blues

— House of Blues, Gregg Allman

This is a new painting that will be going to my Entanglement exhibit that opens in June at the Principle Gallery. It’s 12″ by 16″ on panel and it is titled House of Blues.

This is one of those pieces where I wasn’t sure when it was done. Part of me wanted to add more, to make it feel less stark. Undecided, I set it aside for a while, occasionally putting it back on the easel to consider how I could add to it.

But after some time, I realized that adding anything would remove the heart of this painting which was in the naked emptiness of the horizon. Much like the atmosphere created by the Blue House itself and the bare tree beside it, the cold distance of the horizon mirrored the felt emptiness of longing and loss.

It’s a painting that has grown on me over the time it has lived with me. Like some people, it’s not a painting that welcomes you in with open arms. It speaks of spaces and thoughts that remain private.

Maybe that’s the appeal for me.

Here’s a song of that same title and much of the same tone from the late Gregg Allman. It’s not an exact match but it works, especially on a cool and gray May morning with rain beginning to fall.