“Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and Heels” is executed in oil bar. I first think of it as a drawing because I sketched the subject in charcoal.  In the past people commented about my “paintings” and I would correct them because for the most part my art portfolio was made up of drawings executed in charcoal, pencil or pastel. Perhaps NOW we can call “Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and  Heels” a painting. Oil bar moves like paint and can be blended like oil paint, which is one reason it is so fun to use. It took me a long time to “get it” but now I love it.

The success of this painting results for a few reasons. The structure of the composition is bold and uncomplicated.  There is  a lot squeezed into a narrow frame; the figure is right in your face. There’s not much there as a portrait. The piece is more about shapes, color and form, including the angle of the coat, the curve of the leg, the points of the shoes, the reflective orbs of the pearls. Another reason for its success is the familiar and always reliable thrust of black against red—with hints of varying hues of each throughout, including soft grays, whites, pinks and blues. In this case the combination of red and black evokes some interesting things for me. Frankly, I think this piece is about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. If I am lucky I unconsciously transfer this narrative onto the paper or canvas.

THE STORY

Similar to the “Red Chair” series, you see a person, probably a woman, waiting for someone or something to happen, in the back of the theatre or a room off to the side of a bar. She is waiting for the show to begin, or end. She is waiting to hear her favorite song, and maybe later, experience sex.

The coat is vintage velvet, a deep blue black with a satin lining that feels luscious to the bare skin. It’s the kind of coat you want to hug about you on while sitting in the limousine on the way to the gig. And while listening to the music, or watching the performance from off to the side of the stage, watching someone you know perform, or listening to the wanes of the vocals, you dig your hands into those deep pockets and cross your legs and bounce and tap to the familiar melody and lyrics that yank at your heart. You hum along quietly at the back of your throat. The pearls wrapped around your neck subtly vibrate against your larynx. You recalll  your teens and the wild times on the strip that promised excitement and mystery, revelation and awakening. You feel that same yearning rise up and  hungrily grab at the rawness it evokes inside you. In anticipation you experience some satisfaction but don’t want the song to end and when it does you wonder: Did anyone notice what just happend?

The seated woman in black with pearls and heels wonders if anyone notices her.    #

"Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and Heels" will be featured in the Ojai Art Detour which takes place October 13th – 14th.  For more information about the upcoming Ojai Art Detour please visit: http://www.ojaiartdetour.com/