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| 20 X 24 oil on canvass |
As a native son of California, I imagine myself to be part of a long lineage of pastoralists who lived off the land and among its beasts. These men grew their hair long, packed serious heat and fed off the corpses of brilliant and steaming buffalo. Many of these men held sway over entire populations of Grizzly, carved towering monoliths with their bare hands, and danced amazingly well. It is clear they lived idyllically and were the most interesting people in the world. Yet, I only imagine myself to be among this beefy and mythological fraternity. The fact is, I live in a modern suburb and all the beasts are people. People who drive cars.
I have gotten over this. In fact, I am more into the pastoral vision as it is portrayed in art. This art is often religious and sublime in nature, and California has just the landscape to inspire it. It was only a matter of time before I attempted such a landscape, and I imagined I would do something resembling the Coastal Range around the Bay Area - with that dreamy inspiration of pastoralism. Lastly, I also tried to capture a billowing Thomas Hart Benton-esque feel. I recently looked at a number of his murals and they were quite great. I suppose I tried to capture a region and it's spirit as he did.
