I always told my students with creative inclinations to not compare their efforts with the GOATs [Greatest of All Times.] Maybe some time, but not with their initial efforts. However, I did suggest that they look at GOAT history, to see what choices the GOATs made along the way.
I do follow that particular piece of advice in my own work, which I offer as a partial explanation of the evolution of Horsing Around.
When you look at the history of all the bigs in painting - Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Picasso, Cassett, O'Keefe, LeBrun, Basquiat - etc., etc., etc. there is one common theme, they experiment, they change, they evolve. Those shifts are often the openings forgers seek to exploit, e.g. Han Van Meegeren's fakes purported to be "early Vermeers." However, those shifts, I also assert, give us amateurs permission to do a little shifting on our own.
My Cranes images grew out of a desire to play with something uplifting and positive to combat the Perfect Storm I wrote about the other day. Horsing Around is a continuation of that general theme - and obvious composition. I believe I wrote about a time on our Italy trip when we were watching a Carousel getting removed from a plaza where we were taking a break. I found the horses particularly winsome and so snapped a picture:
The front horse stuck with me and became the theme piece in Horsing Around, which owes its structure to Cranes:
Each horse will be treated as a separate mini-composition. Following my normal process of creating a black and white cartoon:
And then adding color:
When all six are completed I will find myself, once again, face-to-face with the recurring background issue.
I'll let you know how that turns out!
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