Wow, still hot in Southern California (over 85F), while there is already snow in Colorado and elsewhere in the United States. I am featuring another of my summer inspired paintings from my artist book Bluewater Shore and with the current temperature, it seems to make sense to me to share a summer inspired painting.
Similar to my earlier post about my painting Summer Gang, this is another painting that I completed in 2018 but on reflection I felt has some glaring issues that just did not look right. Nice thing about a painting; just get out the brushes and acrylic paint to work it some more. The distant horizon has become a bit more abstract and ambiguous while I think I did a bit better in rendering the features of one the four individuals. I am diffidently happier with this painting as a study, so I think it’s done.
Of all of the other individuals that were in the original photograph, I had thought having the one person in the background who is looking toward the four-some might create an interesting narrative. Now I am not so sure. To size-up this painting later, I might just leave at this four-some. And now looking at this on my monitor, I might want to make some adjustments to the back ground green area “grass”.
This painting is based on a vernacular (family archive) photograph set in the mid 1940’s. I am only sure of my mom in this painting while I recognize two of the others who appear through out her archive from this same period. I have checked in with other living family members who have Pennsylvania roots and they don’t seem to have a clue as to who the others are. sigh. How it goes sometimes with a family history; gaps as to who is who and what the heck was going on and where. Which becomes a family mystery.
Cheers & be stay safe
Doug
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My next photographic exhibition:
Update: February 20th – March 20th 2021; Photographs’s Eye gallery, Escondido, CA, a solo exhibition of my Memory Pods series (lens-based photography). Exhibition reception February 20th, 3-7pm.
Featured painting: Four of Us (Bluewater Shore series) copyright 2018-2020 Douglas Stockdale
Singular Images 
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