The Layers of Absolute:Allure

Today I finished documenting the latest painting in my Absolute series. Layers of translucent crimson were painted on birdseye maple. This made a simple yet dynamic backdrop from which to build the rest of the piece.

It portrays a plump cherry dangling above a vertical white stripe. A series of overlapping translucent shapes help frame, focus, and add to an already rich collection of symbols.

Read on to learn more about this piece.

[Full Image Gallery Below]

The wood was reclaimed from an antique vanity that I’ve used before for other works. You can even see the remnants of blind dovetail joints on the back. The natural beauty inherent in this type of wood is also one of its biggest challenges. In the end, I chose a saturated yet limited color palette and then framed the whole thing in aged cherry wood to match the content of the piece.

This piece serves both as an alignment and advancement of content in the Absolute theory. Want to read more about the symbolism in the Absolutes? Read the theory here.

 

Absolute: Allure, Oil on reclaimed birds eye maple. 7 11/16″ x 8 3/4″. 6.4.15.

Absolute: Allure (detail)

Absolute: Allure (detail)

Absolute: Allure 4 (back detail)

Absolute: Allure 5 (frame detail)

First coat of color

Second coat of transparent color

Scraped away a circle and reapplied another (darker) coat of color to the stripe.

Painting the cherry next to a real one

Reducing shadows and bringing out highlights on the cherry

Making the frame