Throwback in the Self-Referential Sense.

In the spirit of 1998…

I present a little watercolor piece called “Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight.”

This came out of a watercolor class I was in Connecticut where I was the only male, and the only person under 50 I believe. There were a lot of flowers and soft pastel colored paintings in the group, and this painting was a response to that. It didn’t go over too well. But the class was great.

I happen to like the deep color blue of the night sky and the way the mask sits on the face. It appears to almost be grafted on. The style is very comic book like, which is difficult with watercolors. The mask seems more alive than the fellow who wears it.

Whoa!

Watercolor is a medium that was completely censored from Carnegie Mellon University. Not officially, of course, but the underlying tone of students and teachers alike was “turning up the nose.” I think watercolors require a deftness in paint application that can really be beautiful.

I will be chasing that beauty in 2007.