Wednesday, January 28, 2009



Shadow and Substance

Watercolor on paper, 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
$150 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


A somewhat larger painting today. I'm going to be varying the size of the dailys for awhile, because...well, just because. I feel the need to put some variety into proportion and size to keep my creative juices flowing.

Our neighbor Fred is a true old cowboy. He worked for many years overseeing Forest Service land, spending long months alone on horseback in the mountains. This large steel building is his riding arena. I was struck one day by the shadow cast by one of his horses on that vast expanse of wall.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely piece, Don. It reminds me of a National Geographic picture I saw of camels in the desert. They were walking in line and everything looked normal...until you realized that what you were seeing were their shadows from above! It was really cool. So you have much the same effect here, with your "two" horses instead of one. I love it!

Don Gray said...

Oh yeah Brian, I've seen that photo--it's fantastic! Thanks for the kind words.

Gerald Schwartz said...

Great painting & title..

Dogs by Bri said...

Nice new painting. Love the shadow and how you have two subjects because of it. I agree with you about mixing it up with different canvas sizes.

Don Gray said...

Thanks a lot, Gerald.

Don Gray said...

Hi Bri--thanks.

Todd Bonita said...

Don,

Another fantastic piece. I totally agree with you on your thoughts about winter too..sure, we can complain about the snow and shoveling, but it's magical in so many ways visually , aesthetically and so full of mood..a quiet, almost mysterious mood. I've commented before how your work reminds me of Andrew Wyeths in a lot of ways, he felt the same way about winter as you do. The work is spectacular Don. I always look forward to checking it out.
All the best,
Todd

Sheila Vaughan said...

You know Don what this made me think of was that in a painting the "shadow" can have as much weight (by that I mean, importance, relevance) as the actual object it represents. In fact sometimes even more depending on the whole plan of the painting. And yet, if we were physically at that scene and walked towards it the horse would be the key point of contact rather than the shadow. It's art as interpretation again isn't it?

PAT MEYER -- said...

How interesting. This painting really holds your attention and makes you want to keep looking.

Don Gray said...

Hi Todd--thanks for coming by and taking the time to comment in depth. Yes, I've always felt a kinship to Wyeth's love of winter--I'm of course very flattered by that comparison. I look forward to your postings as well--thanks.

Don Gray said...

Yes, exactly, Sheila,thank you for pointing that out. I started thinking after I completed this painting that it might have carried more power if I only depicted the shadow, with the actual horse implied but not seen. On the other hand I kind of like the "bounce" that's created left to right with this design. It also seems to me that the space between horse and shadow feels somehow "charged" as well.

Don Gray said...

Hi Pat--thanks very much!