The Gentle Abstract Narrative; "Underneath My Night Sky"

This piece was a struggle for me, but in the end I considered it a success. I used an old concept that I have rehashed several times before the concept worked itself out. This final version oil on glass. What I hoped for the piece to reflect was the polarization "gentle" and the hard definition of the surface of the glass. The narrative would carry the idea the rest of the way. The beginning concept was a man lying underneath the night sky underneath a meteor shower. I wanted a bridge in the composition to symbolize the connection between the man and the sky. What happened later was I decided to redraw a failed painting and used some borrowed imagery, so I incorporated a bridge ruin, but still did not have a handle on the figure, so I attempted a few stills of myself lying in my apartment. It was not until four months later this past winter break when I asked my brother to take a few shots of me on the floor until the figure finally emerged. Still the piece was not ready. I had the composition but not the representation. There was no voice, no identity. In a moment of experimentation I printed out the photo and the used cray pa's to go over the print, then the vehicle presented itself. A voice of it's own had finally called out and now I could speak. A man lying in a glass field in patch grass, or flower bed. Stoic, and living. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of a gentle abstract narrative I jumped at the chance to put the work into production. I had found a pane of glass about to be thrown out and it was perfect for the feeling that I wanted the work to carry with it. The finished product has a stain glass aesthetic, and there are parts of the window pane left unpainted, this helps with the transition of light that follow across piece within dark and light contrast of the paint. The lighting is the key to the viewing. Up close it looks dirty, to much light in the wrong place and it seems overworked. but when lit well the tired remains of a man rest gently under the falling night sky, at bliss in a ray of pure hard light, resting gently in a place of his own,"Underneath My Night Sky".