Oil on Canvas
65 X 54 Inches
At times I find myself thinking of the rectangle of a painting as dramatic stage. Theatrical set elements of costume, props and lighting are important in both mediums. The main and supporting characters assume the stage and they definitely have a script. Please indulge for the moment that in “La Performance” the bored ‘but playing along with it’ white doggie on the bed is not the star. As in theater you never know who will steal the show, the audience however is the fortunate voyeur, glimpsing the secret yearnings of the muse, performing alone in her bedroom. Once committed to the ‘set’, I seized upon features useful in co-opping the stage back into the domain of painting and sculpture. The yellow wall paper became a surface to display an abstract passage. I disassembled and reconstructed an actual brass bed which lends visual credulity of scale, to the thick impasto of ultramarine blue light swirls on the wall paper. Important to remember when mixing mediums in the end, it is a painting! Thus it will turn on sustaining visual interest and the organization of the fundamental elements; color, composition, handling of the oil paint. Ultimately these should support the rendered human condition, preferably via ole fashioned method acting approach; pose and facial expression. Repore’ between the considerable 3-D relief and her delicate facial features became crucial. On one hand I’m asking the audience to enjoy me pushing quite a bit of material in, out & around a large picture plain, on the other to empathetically accept her torment represented in a small subtle area of mascara ,hair color and a far away look. The actress is rehearsing (hopefully) for the arrival of the leading man.