Thursday, September 26, 2013

Finding that Midwest edge

"Back from Oz"
18" x 24" encaustic on panel


Last month I was inspired by the farmhouses and barns less than two hours from Chicago in Michigan. The region's soil is matched to that of some of the best vineyards in France and the grapevines were full and lush. Being in the city has definitely changed my inspiration and perspective. My thought was by keeping this work black and white, it is less "pretty" and more sophisticated. This painting also reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, the scenes at the beginning and end, when Dorothy is in Kansas. Although this painting is a vineyard in Michigan and the crop here is grapes rather than corn, I just had to make a reference to the movie.

6 comments:

  1. I like this. I don't think I've ever watched the entire Wizard of Oz--I've only seen parts.

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    1. Hallie, the beginning and end of the movie takes place in Kansas (not the colorful land of Oz) and were filmed in black and white. For many years I thought the reason was that color film had not been invented yet (guess I never thought about how the movie ended in black and white, too).

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  2. Really beautiful, Robin. I think I would even like to see dots of color for the grapes only, leaving the rest black and white and shades of gray like this.

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    1. I considered adding color to create a more lush, ripe, crop Sherry, but this painting was also an exercise in values and tone and I was committed to not adding pigment.

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  3. Beautiful but eerie. I especially like the sky.

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    1. I just changed the foreground because it didn't feel right, but the sky is the same. Eerie is good.

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