I had so much fun playing with color and texture last time, I focused on it completely this time, not even thinking as I applied layer after layer of color. Just feeling the textures and colors, and moving them around instinctively.
(detail)
The colors are even richer and more complex than this,
but you can still get a good idea from these photos.
It all started with the basics: red, blue, yellow and black. The wrapped sides are still those colors, one color for each side. Each basic shape is carved into a spiral, one of the most ancient symbols.
(detail)
It started with an idea to play with colors and textures, and a quote I came across a few weeks ago.
"If we are to achieve a richer culture,
rich in contrasting values,
we must recognize the whole gamut
of human potentialities,
and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric,
one in which each diverse gift
will find a fitting place."
~ Margaret Mead
rich in contrasting values,
we must recognize the whole gamut
of human potentialities,
and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric,
one in which each diverse gift
will find a fitting place."
~ Margaret Mead
(detail)
As I was working on this piece, I was thinking about how some of my blogging friends referred to my feelings in my last post as "percolating." I loved that idea! Does anyone else remember percolators, those old coffeemakers of the 1960s and early 70s? The word brought back happy memories of my childhood, and school, and how I have loved color and words from a very young age.
You know how those thoughts go, right? You start one place and go quickly here, there, everywhere in your mind, until you wind up someplace completely different. I ended up remembering all the wonderful literature classes and linguistics classes I had loved as an undergraduate.
I remembered the lovely word "milieu."
mi·lieu
You know how those thoughts go, right? You start one place and go quickly here, there, everywhere in your mind, until you wind up someplace completely different. I ended up remembering all the wonderful literature classes and linguistics classes I had loved as an undergraduate.
I remembered the lovely word "milieu."
mi·lieu
Pronunciation: \mēl-ˈyə(r), -ˈyü, -ˈyœ; ˈmēl-ˌyü\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural milieus or mi·lieux\-ˈyə(r)(z), -ˈyüz, -ˈyœ(z); -ˌyü(z)\
Etymology: French, from Old French, midst, from mi middle (from Latin medius) + lieu place (from Latin locus), the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops; environmentSYNONYM: background
"Milieu"
acrylic
on 16 x 20 x 1 1/2 gallery wrapped canvas
acrylic
on 16 x 20 x 1 1/2 gallery wrapped canvas
And I realized it would be a perfect name for this painting, because every shape was different. Every color combination was different, yet they all contain a degree of the same four colors. All reflect and complement each other to some degree, just like different groups of people, if we give them a chance. If we realize that we are all more alike than we are different, if we look beneath the surface. If we peel back the layers.
