Celluloid Hero
24in x 30in oil on canvas framed in dark wood with linen trim detail.
This piece is about the personal cost of creativity.
When you love something, you are blind to all it’s imperfections and it’s difficult to know when to let go. I imagine, for a performer, creating a character is much like creating a painting. You build on something personal, and then destroy that privacy by presenting it to an audience. And you do this over and over and over. How much does an artist destroy in order to create? These thoughts came back again and again as I worked on this piece. Each time I felt satisfied, I would scratch across the canvas purposefully wrecking it to build it up again. Never knowing for sure if I could, because nothing is ever a sure thing, and becoming exhausted by it. Finally I left it somewhere in between, which is where I’ve been feeling lately. And it’s the first impression I had when I saw the still image used as a reference.
“Celluloid Hero” was awarded Best in Show in the Bower Center for the Arts exhibit, “Inspired by Hollywood”. Bedford, VA
