Boxes 4 Painting

As my painterly style evolves, I am making an effort to create less cluttered compositions. With a focus on the contrast between clean and messy as well as earthy and bright, I work to create images that are simultaneously energetic and elegant. This piece, "Boxes 4", is one such effort. In it, I constrain my palette to three main colors - cadmium red, a bright blue, and a coral-like color that I sometimes refer to as "circus peanut". These colors are supported by black, white, and earth tones. Subject Matter: A black box casts a clear shadow. Bird-like origami shapes float (or fly) out of the open box toward an unknown destination. Also, something resembling a dialog bubble emanates from the black box. In it is another box - perhaps an acquaintance of the black box, an alternate vision of itself, or something else entirely. A gratifying swath of bright blue in the lower left corner puts us at ease while regarding this spectacle. This item is a work on high-quality Canson Mi Teintes cream-colored paper made with acrylic paint, marker, and colored pencil. The image dimensions are 16x20 inches. The paper size is 18x24 inches. There is a border drawn in pencil to mark the image area for matting. The back of the work is signed, dated, and titled.