February 5, 2009

"We're all in this together"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

I went to Centerstage on Tuesday and saw a fine production of Lynn Nottage's "Fabulation, or the re-education of Undine." A line from the play that stuck in my head was, and I paraphrase - "I dreamt of fish last night. That means I'm comin' into money." I, too, dreamt of fish that night, but for a completely different reason. When I started this painting, it seemed to be a fun little exercise in color and texture. It roughed in well, but soon I was lost in the myriad of iridescent hues and glistening reflections that had my head spinning. Each little fish had its own subtle character. Some seemed happy, (as happy as a dead fish can be) and others sad, or at least resigned to their fate. Sheep may all look the same, except perhaps to the shepherd, but I am here to tell you that all mackerel are not created equal. The variances in hue and shape caught me by surprise. Painting one was a challenge; painting a dozen soon became overwhelming. I fought the desire to do a wipe-out and the resulting painting turned out fresh and colorful. Lesson learned - push on though and try and come out on the other side. I'm glad I did.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brilliant color scheme. That red in the center really "pops". Is it me or do some of those fish look happy and others look unhappy?

Mark Adams said...

Hey, Bob. I thought the same thing when I was painting their little smiles.

moneythoughts said...

Hi Mark,

I came across your blog while surfing for people that paint. I write a blog called MONEYTHOUGHTS. I post my art work on Saturdays. I like your work.
Check out my blog you might find it of interest.

Fred

Anonymous said...

This is a marvelous piece!!!
Holy Mackerel is right!!!

Susan Martin Spar said...

I really like the design quality present in this piece. Yes - I feel sorry for the sad ones though. I agree with Bob...the red really pops!

Mark Adams said...

Fred, Cynnie and Susan,

Thanks for the kind words. I felt this one slipping away and decided to have some fun with the paint. It is much looser than most of my daily paintings.

Susan Carlin said...

Hi Mark,
While I was painting online yesterday, some of the viewers told me to come check out your work. I'm so glad I did! I'll be back to see what you do next....

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Susan. I hope to be back at the easel tomorrow.