Somewhere Distant Painting

This painting (and poem) were inspired by a storm I witnessed while hiking on the San Francisco Peaks: High on the mountain, Looking down, One dark cloud eclipses another, Obscuring the horizon. Through the darkness, Thunder rolls. Somewhere distant, Wisps of rain Quench thirsty sage. Somewhere distant, Droplets scatter dust, And footprints are forgiven. My Fermata-series paintings are quiet sanctuaries for personal reflection. Painting is my antidote to troubling times, my way of contemplating the nuanced gray areas neglected by our increasingly polarized society. I create fields of light and darkness by staining raw canvas with layer upon layer of diluted acrylic pigments that soak into the fabric. These subtle layers of pigment reveal themselves gradually after several minutes of viewing, bringing the dimension of time to the two-dimensional surface. I also blur the distinction between object and ground to create an ambiguity of space. My intent is to create simple but elusive paintings that beckon a hectic world to slow down, pause, and reflect. DETAILS *Acrylic stain on raw canvas built up in many thin layers. The stain technique soaks into the canvas, creating a naturally velvety matte surface with neither the glare of glossy paint nor the deadening of matte paint. *There is no need to frame this painting since the edges are the same background/border color with process artifacts of the underlying colors used to stain the canvas. *This painting ships on heavy-duty stretchers ready to hang. *Signed on the rear canvas margin along with year and artist's inventory database number for provenance. *Colors: black, grey, brown