Surfin Horse

Comment

Comment by Linnea Kathryn Barnes on April 26, 2013 at 11:36am

Thank you for your very thoughful review of my silk paintings.  Much appreciated!

Comment by Resident Curator on April 26, 2013 at 10:30am

Curator’s Comments:

 

Assuming Surfin Horse is also a silk painting, I’m fascinated by the variation in hue and tone in this image.  Somewhat simpler than your other compositions, it still has an incredible complexity of surface, and composition.  The elongated picture plane reads as an Asian inspired scroll, with vertical as well as horizontal movement.  The liquidity of the cool pools of blue and violet is well suited to the image, as the color breaks along the edges of the small individual sections.  I also like that the horse is formally counterbalanced by the high chroma yellow-orange in the top section; the visual weight is suspended, and carried down into the piece.  The broken patches of warm color on the horse further contribute to the shifting pattern in the painting.  Water Ballet is a much more intricate and energetic piece, and this augments the more cartoonish or whimsical nature of the subjects. I also like the appearance of layering despite the hard edged contours.  The floating pieces of water break across the animals, giving them the appearance they are partially submerged.