“Absolute: Change” – A Shift To What Isn’t There
by Daric Gill
If one was to pay close enough attention, they may see seasonal shifts in the Absolute painting series that run in tandem with when the work was created. Of course, this is an obvious side effect when using natural elements as subject matter. However, I’ve also found that this seasonal shift can give a rich conceptual tie-in that grows as the body of work progresses. Read on to find why this piece is different.
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“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein
I noted in my post “Who’s your inspiration?: And The Answer You Didn’t Expect”, that one of my first steps towards starting a new piece is to go on a mini ‘walkabout’. In most cases, I’m not looking for anything in particular (aside from a sense of mental reset). I’ve found that ideas and materials present themselves in a way that feels more fluid just by simply making myself available to the natural world around me.
However, winter in the midwest has always been hard on my content creation. The sun and colorful surroundings of spring and summertime can’t activate me as easily during the winter. February can be the hardest month in the midwest. Blue skies that pepper all other seasons turn a bland grayish non-color. The luscious green and vibrant orange-colored foliage that makes our more temperate seasons so pleasing have long been drained back into the earth. Walkabouts become fewer. Life is not dead, just resting–An internal recharge building toward a future spring rebirth.
Absolute: Change is a special sort of journey: One that seeks a healthy solution to my battling of seasonal content conundrums. A grey backdrop is indeed represented, but a sprig from the indestructible ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) shows off a morsel of youthful green among non-clouds. This piece is as much about what is shown as what isn’t. The vibrant orange mahogany grain pushes through, making a strange obstruction of nothing. Sunshine and innocence are hinted through cloud cut-outs. Things are not centered like normal, but there’s still an effort to maintain balance.
Daric Gill Studios 