“Sleeper 1” 12 × 12 inches, Oil on canvas panel
This is a handmade, original work of art NOT A PRINT and NOT AI GENERATED
FREE SHIPPING Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks This ships from San Carlos, California (The San Francisco Bay Area). I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
In this painting, the warm pinks and reddish browns of the sleeper's face sit against the cooler blue-green folds of the bedding. The pillow curves around his head, and a strong diagonal of fabric rises beneath his beard. Within the small square, the face and the folds fill most of the space. Broad strokes describe the cloth, while shorter touches pick out the gray hair and beard. The paint remains visible as paint even as it describes the weight of a resting head.
Sleep has become a more complicated subject for me as I've grown older. Even into my mid-fifties, I routinely stayed up late and slept past ten. Now I sleep less and more lightly. I miss how easy it once seemed to disappear into that part of the day.
But I've also always had night terrors. Dreams can magnify the anxieties and desires that are already there when I'm awake. The closed eyes don't tell us whether the sleeper is enjoying his rest or having an uncomfortable dream. I don't want to supply an answer that the image can't give us.
The old connection between sleep and death is part of what draws me to this subject. In Greek mythology, Hypnos and Thanatos, Sleep and Death, are twin brothers. That association gives an ordinary resting figure another possible meaning without making this a picture of death. For me, aging makes the vulnerability of sleep, and the pleasure of being able to rest, increasingly important.
“Sleeper 1” 12 × 12 inches, Oil on canvas panel
This is a handmade, original work of art NOT A PRINT and NOT AI GENERATED
FREE SHIPPING Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks This ships from San Carlos, California (The San Francisco Bay Area). I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
In this painting, the warm pinks and reddish browns of the sleeper's face sit against the cooler blue-green folds of the bedding. The pillow curves around his head, and a strong diagonal of fabric rises beneath his beard. Within the small square, the face and the folds fill most of the space. Broad strokes describe the cloth, while shorter touches pick out the gray hair and beard. The paint remains visible as paint even as it describes the weight of a resting head.
Sleep has become a more complicated subject for me as I've grown older. Even into my mid-fifties, I routinely stayed up late and slept past ten. Now I sleep less and more lightly. I miss how easy it once seemed to disappear into that part of the day.
But I've also always had night terrors. Dreams can magnify the anxieties and desires that are already there when I'm awake. The closed eyes don't tell us whether the sleeper is enjoying his rest or having an uncomfortable dream. I don't want to supply an answer that the image can't give us.
The old connection between sleep and death is part of what draws me to this subject. In Greek mythology, Hypnos and Thanatos, Sleep and Death, are twin brothers. That association gives an ordinary resting figure another possible meaning without making this a picture of death. For me, aging makes the vulnerability of sleep, and the pleasure of being able to rest, increasingly important.
