Comfortably Numb

Comment

Comment by Barbara Pickering on May 1, 2016 at 8:57am

That is the beauty of art, whether it be written word as lyric, or visual depiction....it's always the reader or viewer's perception that becomes the reality.  I created this piece to depict the feeling of being detached from reality and having to cocoon in order to deal with turmoil.  In her mind, being comfortable in numbness is where she needed to be to deal with that turmoil.  

Comment by Resident Curator on April 15, 2016 at 6:41pm

I'm glad you took that risk with the palette knife- it did pay off.

Comment by Resident Curator on April 15, 2016 at 6:40pm

Comment by Barbara Pickering on April 15, 2016 at 11:42am

Thank you so much for your comments! I found myself straying from the way I used to paint into photographic realism, which I enjoy, but it sometimes leaves me feeling flat. Sometimes it takes more courage and energy to dig deeper to paint what I really like, but in the end, it's much more satisfying. I thought I was finished Broken, but something was missing. On a whim, I grabbed my palette knife, dipped it in white & payne's gray and 'shattered' the surface. That worked!

Comment by Resident Curator on April 13, 2016 at 3:39pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

While many of your works appear to strive towards calm photographic realism, I appreciate the more emotional rendering titled Comfortably Numb.  This portrait pushes beyond the inherent flatness causes by photographic translation, and imparts a softy focused quality to the edges of the form; more like natural sight.  And yet the gradual dissolution of the figure into the empty background space further enhances the illusion of representation, and places emphasis on mood.  I also like the positioning of the head, and the choice that the figure doesn’t quite look back over her shoulder, while almost unknowingly allows us entry into her private space.  This creates a more studied and slight voyeuristic feel, as opposed to the figures that return the viewers gaze, or exist completely in profile.  Broken is also emotionally engaging, if not more dramatically arresting.  The central positioning of the screaming head doesn’t allow for any visual rest in the composition, despite the subtle gradation of neutral value radiating out from her.  The jagged white lines imply shattering of glass, heightening the already unrestrained expression.  While color seems essential in capturing the elegance of Sea Beauty, it’s restraint in the other pieces is equally effective.