What I Used for This Painting
Acrylic on stretched canvas. 56x30"
Why This Painting is My Favorite
Last year a book on 19th and 20th century kimonos really knocked me out. Some were what I considered "traditional" but many were sewn from a bolt of fabric that contained rollicking and rambunctious designs. I was struck by the power of the latter, so decided to create a series of paintings inspired by them. There is further background on my website.
This one, titled Abiquiu II, followed a trip to Ghost Ranch in October, 2010. The land around the ranch is monumental yet so silent the whoosh of crow wings overhead becomes an intimate event. I don't hold one image of the area in my memory, but an amalgam of distinct impressions that are differently scaled, as well as in the near and far distance. It was exciting to consolidate these various perspectives--including the crow's--on one canvas, "picking up the melody" of Robert Delaunay's 1910 Eiffel Tower paintings. The midline convention of the kimono seemed to support this impressionistic approach, since it can so easily split views.
Some will find it interesting to view the image as the back of a kimono. I find such a literal interpretation most pleasing when it is tempered by abstraction, for therein lies the power. By coaxing our minds past the conventions of a traditional landscape or a traditional garment, abstraction creates potency and mysterious potential.
Lessons Learned
- Don't be afraid to let a painting assert itself. This one began quite differently, but once it became a dialogue it thrilled me rather than simply satisfied me.
- If it's a real favorite, take the time to get a good photograph before delivering it. This is now in DC, and I'm in San Diego. The dynamism of the bottom is not very clear in this photo, and the gallery lighting was intense.
- Trust your instinct. The painting is a mixture of hard edged and loose brush techniques and contains a number of broken "rules," but you can almost not enter it....so feels successful.
Your Blog/Website
www.trueryndes.com
