Hawthorne (Hawthorne on Painting) speaks of painting as spots of color.
'The beauty of a picture results from the way spots of color are brought together.'
This describes the mechanics of my painting. I simply put spots of color next to other spots, while pulling out the lights and pushing the darks. The relationships between those spots fool the eye into some representational image.
The relationships between the spots and the actual scene represent my role as observer. I interpret this scene on a day where the stream flows through a completed restoration area of Nine Mile Run. There is mist in the air, the trees are dormant waiting for springtime.
Relationships relevant to this painting:
Painting - There is a notion of voice behind the relationship of a painting and a painted subject. For much of the history of painting, it has been a visual voice of power. Rich people got portraits painted, in effect, to crystallize a public mythology about themselves. The church commissioned work much to the same ends. I chose to paint the restoration because it is damn exciting and deserves to have it story told in this format.
(Something to consider: what is the difference between photographing the site and painting it? There are tremendous amounts of beautiful photographs depicting the Nine Mile Run restoration. Photography usurped painting as a mode of crystallizing mythologies about power. What is the value of painting in this conversation? The best I can come up with at this time is the ability to convey a different temporal dimension than photography)
The method of paint application is loose and misty. It attempts to convey a very waterlogged scene. In a way, the la