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The following paintings were inspired by my visit to the Cross Ranch (a7), south of
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in August, 2009. More info about this trip can be found in Drawings (2010).
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Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 29 7/8" x 21 7/8" (75.9 x 75.9 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 29 7/8" x 21 7/8" (75.9 x 75.9 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
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Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on panel, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
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Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on panel, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on panel, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
Cowboy on Horse, 2010, oil on panel, 8" x 10" (20.3 x 25.4 cm) |
| The series of paintings called Cowboy on Horse were inspired by my first day on the Cross Ranch. That day, Bill Cross and his right-hand man ‘Sleepy’ Greg saddled up their horses and rode around the ranch, herding the cattle and bulls around so that we could sketch and photograph them. While the animals fascinated me, I was also hypnotized by the stoic and iconic images of the two cowboys. I don’t think either of them suspected that we’d be interested in them as subject matter for our artwork! Because they were unaware (at first) that we were recording them on paper and film, they were relaxed and this allowed us to observe them working just like any other day. Though my original sketches were done in ‘Landscape’ format, I decided to make paintings with the canvases oriented in ‘Portrait’ format (the height longer than the length) in order to emphasize the heroic quality of the cowboy on the horse. Read more and see the drawing that inspired the Cowboy on Horse series in Drawings (2010). |
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Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 23 7/8" x 23 7/8" (60.6 x 60.6 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 23 7/8" x 23 7/8" (60.6 x 60.6 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
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Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
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Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
Bull, 2010, oil on canvas, 8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) |
| We had an opportunity to observe dozens of bulls during our time at the Cross Ranch, but it was one particular bull that caught my eye on the first day our visit. Essentially, I caught a moment on video where the bull stood in the sunlight in a particular way that created the most amazing optical illusion. His long horns cast a shadow onto his head in such a way that the horn and its shadow appeared to be one shape; it was unclear where the one ended and the other began. Also, the shadow appeared to emanate from the bull’s eye, which infused the image with all sorts of wonderful possibilities. I became obsessed with this serpentine, flowing form and began to make dozens of images inspired by it. This shape allowed the bull to transform into other animals such as a ram or bison. Again, this lent the bull a kind of magical quality that I found particularly appealing. In several of the Bull paintings I deliberately tried to obscure the bull’s shape, so that he dissolves into the surrounding landscape. I like the fact that the animal does not instantly reveal itself to the viewer: the viewer must be patient and look at the painting for a certain period of time before the animal allows you to see it. Read more and see the drawing that inspired the Bull series in Drawings (2010). |
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The Crossing, 2010, oil on Belgian linen, 17 7/8" x 17 7/8" (45.4 x 45.4 cm) |
The Crossing, 2010, oil on canvas, 17 7/8" x 17 7/8" (45.4 x 45.4 cm) |
| As I watched Bill Cross and ‘Sleepy’ Greg herd the cattle and bulls across the prairie landscape, I found the image of the stationary cowboy isolated against the vast expanse before him very attractive. As in the other series of paintings I did called Cowboy on Horse, I chose to paint the cowboy from behind, so that the viewer sees the landscape from over his shoulder. Here I am playing with the idea that a painting is a ‘window into another world.’ The viewer looks at the painting and sees a cowboy looking even further across the horizon. The anonymity of the cowboy allows the viewer to imagine himself/herself as the cowboy inside the painting. Also, traditionally, artists have made paintings looking over a figure’s shoulder in order to emphasize the depth and vastness of the space before them. My painting style however suggests a kind of flatness that is often at odds with the composition, which creates a tension in the viewer’s mind: the painting is at once both ‘deep’ and also ‘flat’. Compositionally, working with a square canvas is said to be one of the greatest challenges for a painter, because the artist cannot employ a whole range of compositional strategies that have been developed over thousands of years. Oddly enough, there exist virtually no square paintings in the history of Western art until the early 1900’s! Prior to that point in time, most paintings were rectangular and often utilized a mathematical formula to support the compositional structure called ‘The Golden Rectangle.’ It was believed that this underlying mathematical system reflected and revealed the ‘hidden hand of God.’ Therefore, the use of a square canvas forces the painter to develop new ways of directing the viewer’s attention across and around the surface of the painting. As you look at other art in your daily travels, make a mental note of how many square paintings you see: you probably won’t see many! Read more and see the drawing that inspired the The Crossing series in Drawings (2010). |
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Calf-Roping, 2010, oil on Belgian linen, 11 7/8" x 11 7/8" (30.1 x 30.1 cm) |
Calf-Roping, 2010, oil on Belgian linen, 11 7/8" x 11 7/8" (30.1 x 30.1 cm) |
| On the last night of our residency, we stumbled upon a rodeo in the town of Stavely. It was held in a small arena that sat at most a few hundred spectators. Since everyone knew each other, the crowd was loud and highly engaged, making for an electric atmosphere! I shot video of the rodeo, and once I got back to my studio I made drawings while watching the footage on a large television. I really wanted to capture the intensity of the action, the speed of the animals and riders. Also, I made the walls of the arena round in order to compress the space and emphasize the intimate and personal relationship between the audience and riders. The calf appears to disappear into the space around it, which is exactly what happens in a typical calf-roping event: so much dust and dirt is kicked up into the air in the action that it is truly a wonder that the cowboy can manage to lasso the calf as it stampedes across the arena! Color-wise, I chose to use a bright palette of color despite the fact that the rodeo event itself appeared mostly brown and gray. As with all my paintings, I believe in amplifying the colors in the environment: I try to call attention to all those colors which we don’t often look close enough to see. So for instance, a person might say ‘the sky is blue,’ but the closer and more intensely one looks, one begins to see a whole range of colors including pinks, purples, greens and yellows. Read more in Drawings (2010). |
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Rodeo Clown, 2010, oil on canvas, 29 7/8" x 21 7/8" (75.9 x 75.9 cm) |
| The Rodeo Clown painting (and drawings) were inspired by our impromptu visit to the rodeo in Stavely. I spent a great deal of time videotaping the rodeo clowns as they moved about the arena. Afterward, I returned to my studio and made drawings of the rodeo clowns while watching the footage. Though I know virtually nothing about them, it is clear that they play a critical role in the overall success of the rodeo. While they serve to entertain the audience, they also serve to distract the bulls once they have cast their riders from their backs, preventing the riders from being trampled by the bull as it leaps and crashes back to the earth. Like all clowns, rodeo clowns maintain a kind of melancholy quality. Though they are often bull riders themselves, when they are in the arena, they appear separated and distinct from everyone else. Their strange clothing and make-up alone causes them to stand apart, and they roam the ground in a lonely fashion. In choosing to paint the rodeo clown the way I did, I intended him to blend into the surrounding environment, as if he’s dissolving. Like Pablo Picasso did with his series of circus clowns a 100 years ago, I wanted to capture this idea that the clown is a highly visible person whose role in the overall event cannot be underestimated, and yet is person who is simultaneously cast to the margins, often not given their due appreciation and many times forgotten. Read more and see the drawing that inspired the Rodeo Clown series in Drawings (2010). |
Coming soon: Images of 'Storefront' at BLIM (Vancouver), and The Works (Edmonton).