Deep Woods incident

Comment

Comment by Phyllis Stapler on July 2, 2015 at 5:47pm

Thank you Kristen, yes I like the ambiguity here.  Will the bear see the fawn?  I have done more of these narrative pieces in the past always with the intent to isolate each figure with the "hope" the prey figure will be safe.  

I appreciate your insight!

Comment by Resident Curator on July 2, 2015 at 4:34pm

Curator’s Comments:   

 

I am happy to see you’ve posted a group of new works on the site!  While the subject matter and formal handling of color and space fit tightly within your signature style, Deep Woods Incident strikes me as a slight departure from your elegant and serene portraiture into a narrative format that could evoke predator-prey relationships. The inclusion of the plant forms also spatially takes up more of the otherwise negative ground, and presents a proportional challenge with scale to the figures, and relatively flat picture plane. I also find it interesting that the fawn and bear contrast each other through scale, but aren’t necessarily engaged with each other as they’re posed in profile at heights and positions that interrupt their sightlines.  The choice of a neutral hue for the background calms the environment, but doesn’t visually answer if the work is about friend of foe.  Whether or not this content was intended in the piece, for me it richly adds another subsection of information to the exquisite painting.