Monday, March 3, 2008

Pausing...


Pausing, acrylic on board 16 X 18

The painting above is one I sold recently at the Frameworks show. The simplicity of the scene really appealed to me as I worked on it. It is was not hard to resist adding "more". Sometimes less is more. When it was done I thought of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening". One might glance and stop to catch the simple beauty of sun on grass, pause and enjoy a moment lovely and light. Obviously it is not a snowy evening so here is how the poem might work (apologies to RF):

Stopping By Fields On A Hazy Evening

Whose fields these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his grass gleam and glow. etc

Here's another wonderful poem that starts in a field. By Mark Strand, this poem is about not stopping, at least that is the superficial message. Strand's "verse deals primarily with the relationship between the individual self and the rest of the world in language that is spare and through images that are often surreal and dream-like." I think the style of the poem fits the style of my painting, but the message is quite different.
Keeping Things Whole

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body's been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love them pomes! They match the painting perfectly. Hope the owner sees this.

Silverbear said...

This piece is another example of the fine style that I find most compelling in your work. There is the subtle blending of colour in the foreground leading up to the fragile line separating field and sky. There is no busy-ness here - a calm, yet forceful assertion of shading and tone. An outstanding work of art.
The poetry was well chosen. It supports and reinforces the overall tone of the painting.The combination of art and poetry produces a more intense dimension to the expression of your art. This one is a "keeper" and I will return to it often.