Going Home

The words read: Whether I went to school or... I went to swimming lessons or... I went to a Birthday party... I was always happy to go home.

The beautiful, rich, symbolic painting is a textured soup of delicious unusual hues. It is also a continuation of a new theme that I have been exploring. Childhood memories and images of lasting significance. There are words in this painting that read, "Whether I went to school or... I went to swimming lessons or... I went to a Birthday party... I was always happy to go home." This style of painting, isolating a small window in a broader expressionist abstract piece, is a theme I have been returning to regularly. The style lends itself well to these memory pieces. Like peering back through a window in time. For whatever reason, the energy in this piece feels just right to me. Comforting and deep and a wee bit haunting. I am hopeful this painting will bring memories and smiles to the home or office of another happy homebody like me.

How Going Home was made... First, I primed the panel with black gesso and then I created a deep, sculptural expressionist painting filled with rich plums and navy and chromium oxide green and dark red and a variety of ripe colors. Then, I used an ice-scraper to clear the color and texture from a small rectangular window. When that layer dried, I used a wide, soft brush to apply a layer of smoky dark blue over the whole piece and then I used a damp cloth to rub that layer off in key places. I also used a dry cloth to blot up the top layer in other areas. (The blotting leaves a different texture.) Finally, I used small detail brushes to paint the elegant, subdued landscape and to add highlights, lines, and words.

Going Home was painted on a flat canvas panel. The edges are painted black. This piece would look lovely displayed on a small decorative easel or it can be affordably framed as it does not require glass or matting.