August 22, 2007

Stone Fence Cornwall
oil on canvas
30" x 30"
$1800

Dream Painting

At last I can show you #3 in the Cornwall series. (#4 is drying on the back porch and will be featured soon!)

"Stone Fence Cornwall" went through many changes on its way to what you see here, a rock wall that separates the distant headland, sea and sky (painted in cooler colors) from the foreground path, grasses and those unusual bushes (much warmer pigments).

I wondered about the significance of this particular clover-covered stone fence which I'd captured in a photograph a couple of years ago. Did it reflect some internal defense of which I was unaware? Should I take it down, or put a gate through it? This might have allowed the viewer's eye to move more easily from the near spaces to the more remote ones. But the wall intrigued me and so I left it intact.

To me, the painting makes a statement to me about the nature of here and there, now and then. By staying on this side of the fence, in the "here and now" space, rather than traveling to a place more distant (past or future -- your choice), I get to enjoy the warmth and brilliance of what's on my path. I can also look out over the fence to see more distant realms. And, if I'm compelled to go to those others places -- it's not a prison wall after all -- it's not that hard to climb. (Oh my! have I just defended my wall?)

Some paintings are like dreams and this is one of those sort. I'd love to know what you see in "your" version of this painting. Drop a line or comment in the blogspace below.



No comments: