On a road trip back home. I stopped in at a Northern Florida Orange stand/convenience store. Walking around this store where I could have bought a gator back scratcher or a huge pecan log (yummy) tasting wonderful grapefruit meandering through the aisles. I was stopped by this crazy display; hundred of alligator heads!! My first thought was of the slaughter house for this. The image continues to be visceral in my mind and yet there they were with beautiful sunlight coming through this window. They seemed ha ha almost happy to be there!!! I tried to convey that with my choice of colors.
One of the aspects I am aware of is the difference in the quality of light that falls over south Florida as compared to where I am from in northern New Jersey. One of my favorite paintings by George Bellows captures that northern light most strikingly. His "Winter Afternoon" painting gives me comfort. In that painting he captures the view of the Palisades where I grew up. I knew well the little jagged orange that represent the morning sun on those cliffs. I can go on and on, my point is that the representation of light is a catalyst to certain moods for me. In this painting a torrential rain had fallen over my studio in the early evening. As it often rains here the clouds moved fast and it was clear again leaving the parking lot wet. Little puddles acted like a mirror to the sky above. The light danced and jumped all over my vision bringing me a sense of excitement that I had to try and capture.
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