in your recent paintings. I really enjoy the interplay and juxtaposition of how this is developing in your paintings. But even as you develop, your older paintings are still perfect in their way.
You’ve always use perspective to give your buildings depth which brings in the quality of three dimensionality while at the same time having the flat look of two dimensionality which creates the charming quality of your paintings.
More and more I can see you are influenced by Matisse’s way of using these elements as well as the use of patterns on your objects and in your backgrounds. The balance in these elements is very good, as in you have the artistic ability to mix them quite well in one painting after another, and this is what makes your work unique.
To be more specific, in your Twinkie high tea painting you have all the elements of flowery design in both the background wall and the China set and these are painted in a flat fashion which is two dimensional but you also have the three dimensional element of perspective which is not only reminiscent of Matisse, but is also present in Gaugin’s treatment of the flower and design prints of the wrap around clothing in the women in his paintings in Tahiti. Though their bodies are portrayed as 3 dimensional, many times their clothes as well as the background tropical vegetation was flat and 2 dimensional. This treatment is what made his paintings so uniquely his and show more easily how his art was developed and pushed in to the impressionist mold unique to him.
I think this development is uniquely yours and quite a natural path for you. It’s more obviously evident as you start giving more attention to creating more defined shadows in the tea painting and in how you are using reflections in your objects of patterns and colors bouncing off. The shadow of the tea cup is quite defined as is the reflection of the sugar canister on the table and the color of the Twinkie on the fork. These are wonderful details! And yet your background wall is flat, vying for attention with its bright bold red color and crowding up close giving the feeling of intimacy and closeness to the viewer. The use of very brilliant colors, including the purple tabletop next to the red background and the yellow Twinkie adds an element of tension which as in a lot of your paintings is great.
And your use of the ordinary Twinkie in the setting of elegant china with it’s implication of refined activity stands out just the way you meant it to. So again your painting is telling the viewer a story, inviting playfulness.
By the way, your use of and development of reflection is also evident as you use it your Winter snow and ice giving way to Spring melting. It definitely brings to mind how water and air bubbles develop on the underside of melting ice when the weather starts to warm up as well as the reflections in water of the outside world. It’s a riot of visuals vying for attention.
As always I love your work!
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