The Man Cave. Oil on canvas, 42″ x 26″.
The Man Cave, oil on canvas, 42″ x 26″, 2021. This is a medium size night scene, which was inspired by my brother’s suburban home and neighborhood. It is not an exact representation, it is an imaginative recreation; an attempt to capture the spirit of a place, rather than just it’s appearance. It is dreamlike, and surreal. A soft blue light pervades the dark scene. Light penetrates the darkness, and emanates from many sources; it pours from a garage, a window, a doorway. The people, though not interacting, belong to the place. They are a family, and this is their home, their world. All five of them. Five? Where are the other two? In the bedroom?
Blues, golds, and deep greens are the colors used to create the effect of illumination. Of the artificial lights, there are several – including overhead lights, car lights, and a flashlight, with city lights in the distance. All linked by the use of electricity. The candle on the picnic table is man made, only the moon is natural. This is an oil painting, a very flexible medium, which has many properties. For example, several of the foreground textures are created physically, with opaque white paint, which is then glazed over with a transparent paint to create a luminous, textured color. Paintings are both images and physical objects. Digital imagery, for all it’s virtues, fails to capture this important physical character.