Gayle, Holly's Room

Gayle, Holly's Room
2008
Oil On Canvas
24"x36"


Another of the many paintings of my friend Gayle. I wanted to revisit the composition found in "Spare Room"; lots of negative space bisected by a narrow section of activity. Here Gayle rests on her daughter's bed...you can tell that the bed is too small for her. The sunlight was so beautiful that day reflecting on the walls almost as though the room was underwater. I wanted it to be serene yet provoking the viewer to wonder what Gayle's expression is...why is she lying in this bed that is clearly too small for her?

I liked how the frame of the doorway was echoed in the frame around the window...the swathe of greenery outside provided another narrative along with what was happening in the mid ground.

The blankets were tricky to render....I really do not like blending on the canvas and so more swatches of colour need to be mixed and applied to achieve the desired colour and value.

My favorite part of the painting is Gayle's hands...almost lost in the sunlight but still visible.

"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."
~Francis Bacon