The War is Over Painting

Aggressive Lines? Who knew that lines could evoke emotion? When I made this piece, I knew what I was going for: simple vertical lines. What I didn’t know was the feeling that those simple lines would evoke. The names I give my pieces are generally based on the feeling I get when I look at them – not usually planned. And when this one was done, it reminded me of war. Moreover, the aftermath of war. Here’s why: Aggressive Colors This color scheme (red, black, white) is always a favorite of mine. It’s a color scheme that stands to make a point. But with ‘The War is Over’ it’s not just a bold piece – its a reminder. A reminder that even to this day we are engaged in conflict somewhere around the world. And after every war is death and destruction. It’s a bleak but honest truth. I think that red is very cliched in its use to represent blood, but, truly, what other color could be used? It’s instantly recognizable. As for the black and white, I do have different perspective on those, and it’s a bit philosophical: Black and white here (to me) represent the sides that war involves. Democracy vs tyranny. Freedom vs oppression. Good vs evil. Dark vs light. Two sides taking up their arms against one another to rise above the other. The red between is the clash, of course, and the inevitable bloodshed to follow. While I didn’t intend to create such a statement at the outset, the true purpose of the piece emerges once it is done. And that is sometimes the most exciting part of the process. Stretching This item comes UNSTRETCHED, meaning flat on the canvas. NOT ON A FRAME. Creating my paintings on unstretched canvas allows for different effects that cannot be achieved on stretched canvas (canvas on a frame). The advantages to selling this piece unstretched are twofold: It’s cheaper and easier to ship. For unstretched pieces, I can offer lower prices for the sheer fact that shipping large pieces is expensive no matter how I do it. Also, you can decide how to stretch it. With raw canvas, you can have a wooden frame made for you by a local framing shop or made with stretcher bars and have it stretched over that. OR you can have it put into a large glass frame and hang it that way. Really, it depends on your tastes, but it’s your decision to make. The piece allots for 3 inches on each side to be stretched on a gallery style frame (1.5″ thick).