Apocalypse

UPDATE: Purchased by gallery owner for private collection

Title: Apocalypse
Medium: Watercolor (acrylic inks and watercolor pencils on paper)
Size: 16" x 23"


This is the only non-figurative painting in The Wall series. It is also the last piece in the series. With so many potential works remaining, this one seemed to be an appropriate ending that somehow at once represented all the others.

While painting it, I reflected on where and how the others in the show slept, where they kept their clothes, how they stayed dry. Part of me remains with the series, but life goes on and for me as an artist there is still much left to explore.

This piece was preceded by a larger version on canvas which ran into insurmountable problems toward the end of the work. This was primarily due to taking what appeared to be an innocuous portion of the piece for granted, and leaving it for last. I then went to a smaller canvas, to discover what was creating the distorted illusion before moving to paper as an alternative solution.

This smaller work suffices, as it gets the point across without vying for attention as to size when shown together with the others in the series. It works as a snapshot piece, so to speak.

The original reference photo was taken not ten feet away from a busy, upbeat and adjacent windowed restaurant in NYC, although it wouldn’t seem so. It is a fairly literal interpretation of my original photo, with the exception of some altered shading and some details not really there in real life, i.e. my dated signature… (hmm, did you find it?)

Although still narrative in scope, Apocalypse presents a motif along the lines of my new upcoming city scape series.


The End

This is the end…
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers hand
- The Doors</b>


A sobering thought

Some of us have the choice to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with our hot festive dinners tomorrow in our warm homes and with our loving families. The Wall, perhaps one day, will be no more.