By Studio Light:

An Ode to Turner and a Palette Knife

This 18x36 acrylic piece is painted entirely with a palette knife. The manner of depicting the Sun and sky is an homage to the tireless effort of J.W.M Turner and his dedication to establishing landscape as a worthy subject for painting. This subject matter, which is all too easy for us to take for granted as a valid art genre, is in no small way due to Turner who advocated for landscape to be taught in the academies as well as shown in the solons. The window frame painted along the outer edges as well as its panes that cut across the main image, are a reference to the philosophic thought of Martin Heidegger as representative of his concept of en-framing, which emanates from calculative thinking, and all too often determines our understanding of the world, or at least, pieces of it. However, the powerful breaking of light that abates the bars in various places symbolizes that there is always hope for thought, and thus for a better understanding to emerge, because the Sun is and that means the light of truth can still foster in our imagination and thought, regardless of how small the opening with which it has to reach us. I painted the piece with a palette knife as a commentary about the weapons one has with which to affect change in the world and by doing so in this way to challenge what is commonly considered powerful in such a context, for surely, the palette knife is a meager weapon by typical standards and yet... it affects larger more wide sweeping change across times excessive to its own than the sharpest of blades.