This is a colored pencil painting I recently completed that is based on a photograph I took this fall while on a bicycle ride along the Cedar River Trail near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I have passed this same location many times and paid no attention to this now demolished building that was seriously damaged during the flood of 2008. The building had stood vacant since that time. I'm not sure why I noticed the rubble as I rode by this time, but I did. Perhaps what caught my eye was the way the light fell on the remaining vertical supports and also provided dramatic contrast between the golden, fall leaves of the trees in the background and the dark shadows filling the depression between the trees and the pile of rubble. As I continued to look, I began to reflect on famous ancient ruins found around the world that are considered art by most viewers who visit them. Although in this particular location most individuals who see this pile of rubble from the Cedar River Trail may view it as something unsightly to be collected and hauled to the dump. Yet, is it possible for the remains of this once useful, commercial building to also be a form of art, if only we take time to actually view it? I entitled this painting "Art is where you look.". The piece is done on museum quality Dura-lar polyester film using Farber-Castell Polychromos, Prismacolor Verithin, and Marshall pencils. The size of the artwork is 8 X 12 inches.
4 Comments