Corn Dogs

This painting is far too large to scan in its entirety. The first image below is a digital photo. Please refer to the detailed scans for a more accurate representation of the rich hues and textures in this piece.

The words in this piece read: "There are still unspoiled places ... where the future ripens slowly ... and the animals keep watch."

This painting is an epic. In the history of my work, this piece stands out as the painting where all of my elements and themes came together for the first time in a single, unified, inspirational image of nature and magic and hope. It is a gorgeous canvas filled with rich, vibrant, expressive color layered over intriguing organic textures. It contains a glowing night sky with a sliver moon and stars for wishing, a sweeping landscape with abstract expressionist elements, a lively still live, and two emotional dog portraits. But mostly it is an affirmation for those of us living in cities and suburbs that there are still natural pockets of magic in the world. Even if we do not live there, it is enough to know that they exist. Places with no rush hour traffic reports, no gang drive-bys, no smog. Places where the rhythm of life is dictated by the rhythms of the earth. This piece also continues my interest in the subtle inclusion of language in art with a single sentence split in thirds and painted in tiny letter in the bottom right corner. The words read, "There are still unspoiled places ... where the future ripens slowly ... and the animals keep watch."

I am hopeful that this grand image of one night in the country will bring a bit of comfort and hope to the home or office of some fellow believer out there.

Corn Dogs was created in layers over an extended period of time. It began with black acrylic gesso and a thin layer of acrylic modeling paste. I used palette knives to "rough up" the modeling paste and create subtle organic textures. Then I used an ice scraper to remove the texture from three small widows in the lower left. I used dental tools to engrave "frames" around the windows and a border of sorts around the painting. And I used my fingers to push the paste into fluid three-dimensional ridges that became the outlines of the landscape. Once all of the textured layers had dried, I used a palette knife to create a bright, expressionist underpainting filled with movement and energy. Next, I used mid-sized soft brushes to layer thin washed of color over the entire piece. At this point, I smoothed the expressionist painting and established direction in the land and the subtle fade of the sky. Finally, I used my tiny detail brushes to create the home and the trees and the corn and the farm dogs. And to add key highlights and lowlights as well as the delicate, camouflaged letters.

This piece was painted on a huge 24" x 36" stretched canvas. I created it for a specific purpose and had planned on framing it in a ready-made frame, so I could not use one of my gallery-wrapped canvases as it would have been too deep. I chose a .75" deep, high-quality, pre-stretched canvas primed with acid-free primer. This canvas does have staples on the sides. The sides have been painted black and the painting has been framed. After this piece was complete, I no longer felt the ready-made frame was an appropriate choice, so I had Corn Dogs framed in a slim, mat black, clean simple metal frame. Ironically, the frame is "deep-dish" and stands out about 1.5" from the wall. It is a perfect compliment to this striking painting, defining the image from the surrounding space while still allowing you to focus entirely on the painting itself without distraction. This painting will be shipped framed and ready to hang.