For our engagement, I gave Amanda a painting that came from listening to one of our favorite love songs (The Aspidistra Flies) while thinking about Degas’ racetrack paintings. I wondered whether I could give the forms of umbrella-toting pedestrians the same wonky, space-tilting, off-kilter yet balanced structure of those perfect, perfect horses.
That feeling of catching a random moment, and, on reflection, the recognition of incredible intention, structure, and balance.
Seemingly random, unexplained elements that start like chaos and end like inevitability.
I didn’t quite get it, but I’m really proud of the attempt, and it’s come to represent our romance in a sweet way. The longer I know it, the more it grows on me. Painted in acrylics.