True Grit

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on March 8, 2023 at 12:11pm

Curator’s Comments:

This is an intriguing image.  True Grit presents the subject of what I believe to be rodeo riders in a graphic and magnificently jarring manner. Most viewers are accustomed to observing such scenes from eye level, with a muted brown or local color palette. The striking red-orange and cobalt blue complementary hue scheme enhances the tension between the human and animal figures, while the empty white ground sets up an unexpected visual contrast. Neither barnyard or rodeo arena, the white void in the top half of the composition diagonally cuts a clean line between the action and open space. It also serves to quiet the picture. Looking through your other paintings and drawings on the site, I remember admiring the pieces with metallic leaf. This shift in surface is in some ways similar to the dramatic spatial dissonance in True Grit.  I also noticed you had several other images depicting animals, and I wonder if they were drawn to evoke empathy with sentient beings, or if their presence simply substitutes a figural presence in a Western tableau.  Please consider responding or posting new work if you’re still active on the site.