Passing Time

This painting is far too large to scan in its entirety. The first and last images below are digital photos. Please refer to the detailed scans for a more accurate representation of the hues and textures that make up this gorgeous painting.

Wow was this painting a lot of work! As many of you know, I prefer to work small. My ideal is abut 8" square. But folks have been asking for larger pieces and I have been eager for a new challenge, so I have started working larger on occasion. I was not prepared for this painting at all. I have not worked on this scale in nearly fifteen years. I am beat! This piece is the result of a whole week of tireless painting. Focused painting. Using every tool and trick and lesson and theory that I have ever learned. It is a beautiful dream of a painting filled with motion and texture and light and color. Filled with hope. It is a place to rest. And it will define the room wherever you hang it.

Passing Time continues my interest in the subtle merging of language and art with a single phrase painted in very small letter at the bottom of the canvas. The words read, "These days that pass, they are your life." Lately, I have been investigating mortality and the ways in which awareness of my mortality can enrich my life. Beautiful moments are everywhere if you look for them. I do not create my work in denial of all that is ugly in the world. I read the papers. I know how horribly people can behave and how brutal this world can be. I create my work as a counterpoint to the news. As an informed alternative to the news. As a necessary hopeful perspective that rarely gets acknowledged in our media age because no one stands to profit from a celebration of all that nature gives us for free. Passing Time is a reminder to pay attention. These days that slip past us so quickly, that slip under the radar and pass by hardly noticed at all, these days are our lives.

I am hopeful this beautiful peaceful grand vision will brighten the home of some fellow mortal out there and bring you a bit of comfort. Maybe inspire you to breathe deeper and give thanks for today.

How Passing Time was created..... Where do I start? This piece is the result of so many different applications, that I cannot begin to recreate its evolution. I can say, though, that it contains many, many layers of color and many different textures. I used modeling paste and my fingers to create the three-dimensional ridges that became the lines of Passing Time. I used palette knifes to paint most of the sky, at least for the first several layers. And I used brushes to paint the land. I applied many soft washes of color to the sky using a soft damp cloth. And I scraped through layers with a paint scraper and rubbed through layers with a dry cloth. Some layers dried before the next layers were applied. Other times, I applied new paint over wet layers and let them mix. Because I spent so long on this piece, I really worked the different layers of paint into a rich, single, luminous whole that almost glows. Like it is lit from within. It has a beautiful surface that is textured and feels weathered and warn but still modern. Finally, I used tiny detail brushes to add key highlights and to paint the words.

(The painting continues around the deep 1.5" staple-free sides. This is a digital photo. The scans above are more accurate.)

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 sides of the canvas providing a striking profile and allowing you to display your new painting unframed if you like.