Cloud Dance

Cloud Dance (30 x 40)

Cloud Dance (30 x 40)

Cloud Dance was a breakthrough painting for me.

I painted it in the summer of 2007, a time when I suddenly had a lot of extra time on my hands. I built the support for this 30 x 40 painting in my garage in Sebastopol using old wood that the previous homeowner had left in the yard and a sheet of Masonite left over from some home-improvement project I can’t remember.

I primed the Masonite with Benjamin Moore Fresh Start. One coat would have sealed the acidic surface just fine, but I painted it twice. Then I squeezed out some oil color on a palette and used a rough brush to scrub the paint randomly to cover the entire surface. Then I set the work-in-progress on my easel, stepped back, and considered the possibilities (which is what I also happened to be doing with my life at the time).

From there, I literally paid attention to what the painting seemed to want to become, and I painted. No plan. No landscape I was trying to interpret en plein aire. Fast, loose, yet purposeful — and so emerged Cloud Dance.

3 thoughts on “Cloud Dance

  1. Pamela

    I really like this painting. May I commission you paint clouds to go on the ceiling of my small 1/2 bathroom? I understand that it’s best to do it on canvas and then glue it to the ceiling. This avoids the need to install scaffolding so one can lay on ones back to paint as Michelangelo did for the Sistine Chapel. I’ve been totally stumped on what to do with that room until I saw your painting.

    I promise to light it well and have a party to celebrate its installation to which you are both invited along with other potential clients for your work;-)

    Pamela

    Reply
  2. Guri

    Love it! Great work with the colors. I love the contrast between the warm earth colors and the sky colors. Not sure if the 2 people are coming towards us or going away into the far distance – but that’s what makes this interesting.

    Reply

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