Elaine C. painted this small painting (about 12×16) from a collage, which itself measured no more than 2”. It’s small, but is intensely painted and packs a punch.
Some notes: the “background” color is a true black; the dark mass at #1 is a deep plum color. At 2 & 3, it was crucial to create a subtle, transparent 
transition between the colors. The reds in 4 & 5 could not be the same, one being dark, the other emerging into a bright red at the top and they had to appear like a duo without being parallel. The angles of 4 & 5 had to be carefully tuned, as well as the angles of the two short reds at upper right. The wedge at 6 is more yellow that the photo captures here and the texture is tapestry-like.
This feeling of “emerging” or “vanishing” comes through in all the contours. The color fields are all defined by not being defined, with the edges being fuzzy to some degree. The power in this painting derives from its duality: The shapes are definite and bold, and the colors are complementary (red-green, yellow-purple), but the contours are transparent and nuanced as if the shapes were in a state of flux, either emerging into clarity or disappearing in a mist. To achieve this refined painterliness is no easy task.
Oh, and what does it represent? Clearly, it’s abstract, it’s a play on form and color, freely invented. But is it possible to not be drawn into this landscape and be absorbed by its mysteries?
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
artamaze by Katherine Hilden 