Anticipation

Anticipation.  Oil on canvas, 42″ x 26″.

Anticipation is a medium size painting, in oils on canvas.  The composition is warm and angular on the left, contrasted with cool colors and curves on the right. The left side of the painting is up close, where the right side is distant.  The style is surreal and somewhat primitive.  This is not a realistic depiction, rather a dreamlike recollection and invention of mornings in Maryland.  The title suggests that all the major elements are in anticipation.  The young man in the window, the barking dog, the runner, the fishermen on the bank, even the airline passengers in the sky are anticipating…something.

The two big blue curves in the road are in contrast with the oranges and yellows of the rectangular windows. The lighthouse warns incoming boats, and fills the sailors with anticipation of reaching their destination. The passengers in the airliner anticipate reaching theirs. Even the flock of birds anticipates getting something to eat.

The painting depicts movement in time and space. The clock and lighting in the foreground indicate that its morning, but the moon suggests that its night, off in the distance. We look down at the dog in the window and straight out at the hills and moon, our eye level is at the horizon. This conglomeration of styles and perspectives place this eclectic painting in the Postmodern era.