This painting began in November of 1996 while I was in an Advanced Painting Studio class at the Art Institute of Chicago. November is the beginning of a long winter. It becomes cold and increasingly more difficult to get around. The atmosphere of this painting reflects that feeling to me.
My instructors hated this painting and felt that I was putting to much effort into this piece. To me it was a release of confused and frustrated feelings I was having at home and at school. Often enough, I would battle with my instructors about what was working and what wasn't. This influenced my work quite a bit and often produced pieces similar to this.
I enjoy this painting a very much. It is among my favorites. It has a lot of color, which I always enjoy using. It has unusual forms that when combined, turn it into a structure or architectural piece. My little 'Whoville'.
During its completion in late November, I began to see it really come together. I knew that I would stop working on it soon and give it a name. It has a very heavy varnish over the surface that I'm sure over time will crack which will give it even more of unusual look it it. To me, this will add even more interest to the work and give it yet another dimension.
The clouds that flow over the top of it were placed with a lot of thought. I knew that I needed to give the viewer a break from the chaos and put some sort of direction or flow to the piece. The successful movement was the apex to the piece. I stood back from the work and stared at it for hours.
I had a handful of friends that changed ideas and concepts with and they really didn't like the painting as much as I did. Their constructive criticism could always work in two ways. Sometimes I might get a little angry. I don't think that I let them know that. I wanted them to be honest, as they wanted me to be honest about their work.
Lucid Obscurities is about surviving with a creative mind. Lucid Obscurities is about dreamed up landscapes and all the places you can travel. Lucid Obscurities is about isolating yourself from other people's ideas and doing your own thing.
