Monday, March 2, 2015

Spring Fever

Enamel on heavy, gesso-coated paper, 61" x 72"
$6300. Free shipping in U.S.
Click image to enlarge

For check payment or other arrangements, email don@dailyartwest.com

I tried to do this large painting the same way I might take a walk in the woods without a destination in mind. The only idea I had at the start was to try to paint a landscape that wasn't just a literal depiction of a scene. The painting went through numerous changes over time. They were like side trips, exploring the country while trying to understand where the painting wanted to go. That's often what the process seems like: not me up there directing the work like some baton-wielding conductor, but rather more like just being along for the ride, giving the painting it's head, sometimes holding on for dear life.

Artists always talk about the challenge of knowing when a painting is complete, and I'm no exception. With this piece, at a certain point things seemed to start falling into place in a way that seemed genuine and somehow expressive of the energy and dynamics at work in nature; the wind, the sun and clouds, the sense of growth and regeneration in the land, the shifting spirit of seasonal ebb and flow. I decided it was a good time to throw the brushes down and leave it alone.

Below are a couple of shots of the work at different stages:









2 comments:

Candy Barr said...

This is really cool process and painting! Love the lively brushwork, saturated color and size! FUN!

Don Gray said...

Hi Candy—thanks so much—glad you like it! It was a challenging painting, but fun to do when it started falling into place.