New “Absolute” Painting Is Potently Petite

At just over 4 1/2″ wide, this is the smallest “Absolute” painting in existence. However, don’t let the small-scale fool you. “Absolute: Certainty”  has so much to say.  With exposed painterly edges and remnants of the pencil drawing underneath, this is the first painting in the series to harken back to its creation. To learn more, scroll beyond the image.

The cherry wood that makes up the painting surface was harvested from a historic schoolhouse from 1894 turned artist commune. As part of an ongoing restoration project, scraps of wood of varying qualities have been naturally tossed out as part of the necessary overhauling. My friend and fellow artist knows my passion for reclaiming wood and knew that I’d fall in love with the history that this piece of wood holds. After a good resurfacing, it was ready to be turned into an “Absolute”.

Aside from the materials, this piece is a transitional piece for me. The extra small scale, the rough painterly technique blended with the refined trompe l’oeil style that are normally present, and subtle references to the 4 seasons are all slight departures for me.

The vertical rectangle and vertical alignments still take center stage as the key elements representing the idea of an absolute concept or lifestyle. As this isn’t my artist statement and I really enjoy the game I get to play with the viewer, I’ll spare you the art speak and simply state…

“Thank you for taking the time to look at this piece. Check out the process gallery below.”

Absolute: Certainty: Oil on reclaimed cherry. 4 5/8″ x 5 7/8″. 11.21.13.

Adding the leaf and deepening the shadows.

Adding wrinkles in the paper and changing the background color to green.

Painting the first layer of paint. The color choice for the rectangle isn’t right. Gotta fix that.

Drawing & Gesso

This is what the original design looked like. I’m quite happy that I didn’t cut it down. In retrospect, the black and white design looks like a floppy disk.