Crossview Lutheran Art Festival: Painting in Progress
Today's painting is a painting-in-progress. You can see the enlarged version of what I begin with by clicking on the art, and then four stages of the painting so far. I am hoping to enter this 36x24" painting in the annual Crossview Art Festival. I usually have several paintings on hand from which to choose, but all are in a current exhibit. Two weeks is a fairly tight time frame to pull off a successful painting, and as you saw in the last two days with the 12x12" I was working on, sometimes I need a few days to see if it needs any last minute tweaks. But, it will either work or it won't and I thought I would give it a try. I love the textures that are happening as colors blend and layer. Yesterday's painting was a study of sorts for this one, as I am following the same path in application of color and method of texturing.
The cruciform is a common abstract motif. I use it quite often. It seems appropriate as a symbol to work with during Lent. Today I was thinking about the cross as I painted and the seeming incongruity of wearing a symbol of torture around our necks, and as earrings and rings, especially when they are encrusted with jewels. I thought, would we wear the guillotine around our necks as jewelry? Or, symbols of waterboarding? It is odd, isn't it? What does it mean when we wear the cross as adornment? I am also beginning another commission today that has to do with the crucifixion, that is due in a week. So you see where my mind is... The cross is a most heinous and ugly instrument of torture. My fear is that we have allowed the cross to be
watered down by how we use this symbol in our daily lives. We lose the sense of how utterly diabolical this instrument of torture was. How capable we all are of participating in individual and communal violence against those who differ from us, believe differently from us or who threaten our status quo. I guess if it is a reminder of our culpability, maybe it is a good visual reminder. Deep thoughts swirling around today....
The cruciform is a common abstract motif. I use it quite often. It seems appropriate as a symbol to work with during Lent. Today I was thinking about the cross as I painted and the seeming incongruity of wearing a symbol of torture around our necks, and as earrings and rings, especially when they are encrusted with jewels. I thought, would we wear the guillotine around our necks as jewelry? Or, symbols of waterboarding? It is odd, isn't it? What does it mean when we wear the cross as adornment? I am also beginning another commission today that has to do with the crucifixion, that is due in a week. So you see where my mind is... The cross is a most heinous and ugly instrument of torture. My fear is that we have allowed the cross to be
watered down by how we use this symbol in our daily lives. We lose the sense of how utterly diabolical this instrument of torture was. How capable we all are of participating in individual and communal violence against those who differ from us, believe differently from us or who threaten our status quo. I guess if it is a reminder of our culpability, maybe it is a good visual reminder. Deep thoughts swirling around today....