Wish You Were Here original mixed media painting

24" by 36" acrylic and mixed media painting.  SOLD

I've been working on this over several months, though not continuously. I was so happy to have it juried into the "Stars of Texas" exhibit in Brownwood, Texas this weekend. I went with a friend to drop off work at 12 and then check in at 4 to find out if they were accepted. We had so much fun killing time...going to antique stores and junk stores. That night, I got an email that the painting above has won an award but they won't reveal specific awards until Saturday at the opening. They requested a statement about it to show alongside the painting. I thought I'd share it below.

"I’ve had a fascination with fish bowls for a long time. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of my hand grasping a fish in a cold water. I’m not sure if that one survived but the deaths of subsequent pet fish (though not by my hand) were my first lessons in mortality. I think of “Wish You Were Here” as part of a still life painting tradition called Vanitas which dates from 16th and 17th century Netherlands. It’s a reminder of the brevity of life while enjoying it’s fleeting pleasures. While there are other ideas bound up in this painting, I hope the visual properties of it to be the most important. The text and map collage are woven into the paint like the many thoughts and influences that are a part of the act of looking."