It’s 5pm, 8 hours in and you’ve given your fair share of labor, love, and energy into your job. You convince yourself you deserve to live outside the four walls of your office. It’s time to absorb what little sun is left of the day — no one wants to see that pasty, “glow in the dark skin.” Eager to ground yourself and find some sanity, you jump in the car and head to your favorite spot. The drive helps you decompress from the day’s stress, and once you arrive, you’re exactly where you want to be.
In this familiar, quiet place away from the world, away from everything that holds you down, you find solace. Here, your thoughts can roam freely. It’s where you spend time with loved ones, reminisce about the good times, add to your bucket list, devise a plan to improve your life and laugh like a kid again. The sky washes over you, and you lose yourself in the beauty of the landscape.
This must be the place — this is where you find yourself.
This painting emerged like most of my pieces do, out of nowhere. What I mean by that is, that over time I’ve learned to gravitate towards imagery that feels right without overthinking the “what and why” when I choose it. I have a fairly consistent method of creating my work, which often involves sourcing imagery, capturing pictures, taking screenshots, and cropped snippets of colors and textures. I use collage as a tool to rough draft an idea — Photoshop and Illustrator are my best friend for this. As much as I can appreciate analog collaging, I’m too impatient and love the freedom and control digital has to offer. This is a time for play, exploration and experimenting. I often work on several collages simultaneously, until I get that gut feeling of excitement. That’s when I know I’ve got something, and it’s off to the studio to bring it all to life. I could just leave the collage as it is and allow that to be the art, but the process of creating the painting brings me the most joy. The point of the reference is to be just that, a reference. Painting allows me to do much more.
It is during this time of laying down color and making marks that I’m free to let my mind wander. This is when I discover why I was drawn to the imagery in the first place. When we encounter a piece of art, we don't come to it as blank slates. Each of us brings our own unique visual discourse—our personal history, experiences, cultural background, and individual perspectives. This painting not only reminds me of that special place where I go with my partner to unwind at the end of the day, but it also reminds me of home. I will forever gravitate towards mountains and valleys because they are part of my roots. I suppose as I’ve grown older, it’s the simple things I’ve held on to. For me, this painting is a constant reminder that the future is bright and we all have our own individual paths to follow.
“This must be the place”
Gouache on mounted watercolor paper.
14.5” x 23.5”
2024
I hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks painting concept deconstruction. This painting will be on display and available for purchase in July during my solo show “The Little Things,” at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Gallery in Allentown, PA.
Feel free to reach out to me directly if you’d like to chat about this piece or have any follow-up questions.
Until next time - As always thanks for reading. Stay inspired!
Best,
Sam
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