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| "Running Man in Bare Fields" by dkeil 8.25"x24" acrylic on wood 2011 |
I did this painting for a film director named Nick Evans. It's a portrayal of a character in one of his films and the trail of trials he was running through. I can say that I am truly happy with this painting- I actually achieved everything that I wanted to accomplish.
"Running Man in Bare Fields" is the product of a lot of different paintings in galleries and magazines that I have been studying lately. Also, it's been heavily influenced by the work of Coulter Young IV; who is probably the most influential artist in my life, aside from Van Gogh. The son of my father's best friend, I grew up with Coulter's art and we recently reconnected after about ten years. In the interim, he produced some incredible pop culture paintings, ran a gallery, illustrated for some of the top magazines, returned to grad school, handled millions of dollars worth of art for clients (Picassos included!), and now teaches art at an upstate NY private school.
Currently, Coulter's been studying with Andrew Lattimore, a renowned Hudson River artist, who I must say has the skills to pay the bills. I was recently able to accompany Coulter to Lattimore's huge converted-factory studio in upstate NY and the paintings on the walls there have definitely influenced this piece. In the style of Lattimore's landscapes, Coulter has great impressionistic brush work in his oils. When we first reconnected at a Hudson River plein air event in August, I was actually really surprised to see the determined simplicity of his current work. It's totally unlike the precision of his line work and vivid psychedelic colors I remember in his pastel paintings. Totally different, but great. After another plein air event in October we visited again, and then I went up for a few days to do some work on his house and visit last month (my Flickr page has images from the Beacon, NY trip). I had a great time and learned a lot as well.
I applied a number of different techniques in this piece that Coulter taught me regarding developing a more natural depth of field. I guess it can be said that we have to see accurately what's in front of us to form an impression of it. I'm really not into realism- that's why I bought a camera. It seems totally obvious now, but I've been thinking deeply about how to apply Coulter's advice on the matter. He said that I should keep three words in mind: "Lighter," "Bluer," and "Softer;"(which is easy to remember as the abbreviation for pounds- LBS.) As it was, we were high up over the Hudson River on the Newburgh bridge driving back to Beacon. To our right was this huge river and mountain vista- spread out to the southern horizon. It was an "aha" moment for me. In reality, the farther away something was spatially, it was lighter, bluer, and softer- just as Coulter said. I've been searching for a certain painterly look, and to some degree or another I've fought with depth of field in a painterly way.
Another diversion for me here is the use of wood as the grounds. I just love how the grain of the wood has become so integrated into the texture of the work. Especially can this texture be appreciated in the physical presence of the painting. I could go on, I guess, about the actual painting, the colors, etc. The palette was actually pretty limited when compared to my usual palette, I guess it shows, it has a different "feel" to it. I tried to mix the coldness of the dead of winter with the warmth of the dried corn stalks, the hanger-on dead leaves and different colors of tree bark at tree line. Some successful shadow and underpainting work contributes to my happiness, but most of all it's the character- sort of a weird, stick-figured cut-out from a crosswalk light. Some sort of semi-real, transient shadow. Fleeting, fleeing. More than halfway gone, exit stage right. A few tracks remain, generally wiped away without a lasting impression. The vanity of ambition on open land.
Feel free to leave a comment with your impression.
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You can buy a print here at my gallery on Fine Art America.
(Click on the picture link below)
The print quality for this piece on archival matte paper is awesome.
FAA has great service. You can buy just the print alone or even have it framed.
You pick out the frame and mat styles, they assemble it and deliver it within a few days.
If you want me to sign it, I'm happy to do that if you are local.
Also they have a 100% money-back guarantee (including shipping) so if you're not happy,
you can get your money back. Not a bad deal.
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The prices are reasonable and they look awesome framed!
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