City Abstract: Exploration

Eighteen years ago on New Year’s Eve I was standing in a hospital gown performing diaper origami  on my newborn daughter. It was the first diaper I had ever touched, let alone changed. Shaylyn was so delicate and small, I handled her awkwardly and carefully as I tried to make the tiny diaper secure. As I fastened the last piece, I looked up at the large sterile clock on the wall. The big hand clicked up toward twelve. It was midnight and a new year had begun. I smiled and looked down at my baby. “Yep,” I thought “1991 is going to be full of diapers.” And it was.

Fast forward to the present. Shay went out (sans diaper) with her friends to celebrate her 18th birthday and the new year. Meanwhile I gave birth at home to a new painting.

I finished this abstract representation of a city about an hour after I heard the neighbors ringing in the New Year. I hadn’t meant to paint right through midnight but I could see that the piece was close to final and I didn’t want to stop to sip champagne. I’m no longer a superstitious person but who knows, maybe it does bode well that I was doing my favorite activity as 2009 began.

A little back story on the painting: I struggled with this piece quite a bit since October. It has gone through many, many incarnations as I fumbled my way through to the image I wanted to portray. Now that my urban child has arrived, I know what I’m shooting for. I will create another piece that is informed by this one. If the exploration continues to be satisfying, a series will undoubtedly develop. This may be a pivotal moment or a dead-end but I’m enjoying the anticipation while it’s here.

Some notes about the painting:

• it is painted on deep canvas (it will remain frameless)
• the four front edges have been scrapped away to show the canvas (it is a nice framing element and emphasizes the depth)
• color strategy: I moved away from my usual saturated complimentary palette with blue and orange hues and opted for a heavily neutralized primary triad instead

Here’s to my future offspring and a Happy 2009!

Comments

[Jim Horne]

The photos don't convey the extraordinary depth of the painting in real life. It's three-dimensional!

Absolutely beautiful.

[vatslav]

gY4PYz hi! nice site!