My Friends are Giants

My Friends are Giants, 2023

Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm)

- Private Collection -

I had a canvas available and a local gallery was having a juried show with the theme, "Eat Me, Drink Me".  The guidelines read, "We invite you to unbind yourself from the rules of traditional representation and be playful with the relationship between your subject and background. One bite makes you grow and one sip shrinks you down—adventure down the rabbit hole."

Initially, I had the idea of placing a person with cliffs and a 'large' sky. Then I realized, that's how the earth actually is - it's not a playful relationship. Instead, I thought I would add another person and in turn, make a tribute to my friends. My friends are giants - whether they know it or not.

I had a lot of fun with the clouds using big brush strokes. The rocks were a challenge, but they are secondary to the impact of the sky.  The foreground was a little flat so I added a plain of grass. The initial placement of the person was a bit nerve-racking as I can't paint humans very well, but I thought he fit in nicely. And he had the appearance I was looking for.

After deciding to add my giant friend, I had him clamoring over the hill and rock as he comes to visit. I thought it was pretty good, but one of my critics mentioned his right hand having a low contrast against the rocks. She was right, so I changed the hand and now the giant is offering a gift. Cool enough, the gallery accepted the painting for the show.

UPDATE - 20230505

Kimberly and I visited the gallery on the "First Friday" which downtown Colorado Springs has monthly. It is nice to see your painting on a wall in a gallery space. We had a nice supper and then we had a short visit with Humpty Dumpty. Nice evening!

At the gallery with my Giant Friend.

Humpty tying to give us a hug.

- mm -