Circus

This painting is too large to scan in its entirety. The first and last images are digital photos. The detailed scans below offer a more accurate picture of the wild colors and exciting textures found in this piece. This is a palette knife painting. No brushes were used in the creation of this image. A small brush was only used after the painting was done in order to add the words and my signature.

(The sides have been painted black allowing you to display this painting unframed.)

Circus is such a fun piece. The extraordinary colors just electrify the room. I have decided that what I like most about this type of painting is that it feels like paint feels. Like the experience of paint. When I am in an art supply store and I walk up to the paint display with 100 different colored tubes, my little artist heart races just a bit. And this painting feels like that. The emotional power of raw color. Plus, this piece has cool textures, too. It is an exciting image that can speak well to audiences of all ages and is sure to add a bit of circus magic to any room.

Circus also continues my interest in the subtle inclusion of language in art. There is a single word painted in small letters in each corner and the four words read, "Thrills, Treats, Animals, Oddities".

This painting took a bit more time to create than many of the others from the series because I painted it in stages. I allowed stripes to dry before I painted the stripes on either side. This prevented colors from mixing when I wanted them to stay pure. There is still some color blending, but now it is only the intentional blending that occurs. No messes. The result is much more textured and much brighter than paintings where the colors mixed as they were applied. It is a bit less like tapestry, though. A bit more like pop art.

I do not plan any additional images from the Four Corners series. I cannot rule out others down the road somewhere. But for now, I feel this series is complete.