Close Enough

This painting is far too large to scan in its entirety. The first and last images below are digital photos and unfortunately they do a poor job of capturing the richness and depth of this piece. Please refer to the detailed scans for a more accurate representation of the hues and textures that make up this unique painting.

(The image and textures continue around the deep, staple-free sides allowing you to display your new painting unframed.)

Close Enough is a really striking piece and I am hopeful you can see that in these less than perfect digital images. In person, this painting just jumps out and grabs you. It is possibly my strongest landscape this year. It combines the many lessons I have learned throughout my various expeditions into abstract art, expressionist art, minimalist art, finger-painting, and realist pieces. Close Enough evolved over many days of painting and those efforts show in the deep, deep colors and soft natural lines.

This piece is my observation (about my own hermit-y life) that it is easier to love people if you have a bit of distance. It continues my interest in the subtle inclusion of language in art with a single sentence painted in tiny camouflaged letter in the bottom right corner. The words read, "I value my independence."

Occasionally, I wind up chatting with women I do not know well - the lady doing my hair, a woman at the Laundromat, someone on the bus - and I hear, "Oh, I hate to be by myself. I hate it when Monday comes and my boyfriend/husband/girlfriend goes back to work and we can't be together all day." When I hear these statements, I feel like an alien from Mars. I cannot even imagine their lives, really. That sentiment being so incredibly far from my own experience. I love my partner, Mike, with all of my heart. But I love when he goes to work! I love time by myself. Huge uninterrupted spans of quiet time by myself. I do not know what I would do if I had to share my time with others day after day. I think I would lose my marbles. My art shows that I truly do love people. But I love them best from afar. (Smile.)

I am hopeful that this beautiful, captivating night scene filled with hopeful stars and a mystical moon will warm the quiet home of some fellow hermit-y type person out there. Because it is okay that we enjoy the quiet! It is okay that we value our independence.

Close Enough has a little bit of everything happening. Some finger-painting, some brush painting, some palette knife painting. Some loosey-goosey expressive stuff and some tight fine detailed stuff. The lines of Close Enough are three-dimensional ridges and there a variety of other tactile textures along with many layers of color. I took my time with this image and really put my heart into it.

This piece was painted on a fine, hand-stretched canvas. A fellow in Arizona makes these just for professional artists. It is incredibly sturdy, built on hefty kiln-dried wood that will keep your painting in proper shape for generations. The image and texture continue around the deep, staple-free sides of the canvas providing a striking profile and allowing you to display your new painting unframed if you like.