LANDING

Oct 15, 2024

A woman in a loose white dress, accented with gold trim and flowing bell sleeves, sits on the landing of a stone staircase. Weight resting on her hip, she leans on one arm gazing out at the pastoral landscape. She lazily holds a book with her finger marking her page. As the spiral of stairs ascends, the fluted trunks of a trio of tall trees rise in the negative space of the arch. Like tall pillars, they pass behind the stairs, not lending support but suggesting strings to complete the bow of a harp. Caught in flight, a line of doves fly across and out. The simple, elegant stairs take on a weathered texture as the arch flattens. Light catches white marble, and suddenly cast in shadow the stone purples in hue then transitions into a platform complicated with dangling ropes, rusting metal grates, and a variety of boards, rails, and rebar. Like a bridge to nowhere, the stairs end somewhere between progress and decay with detached pieces floating out in the air beyond. — LANDING (2004), Acrylic on Panel - 30" x 24"

This piece was born of a digital image from PASSAGE TO SANCTUARY, a series of three limited edition prints produced by Mithril Publishing in 1994. Created entirely on the computer, the prints were an experiment in new media.

PASSAGE TO SANCTUARY: LANDING (1994), Digital

To maintain the integrity of the print run, the source files were destroyed after the images went to press, leaving no original art only fine reproductions of the images.

Unfortunately Mithril Publishing went out of business before the prints were fully distributed. Far less than the original print run of 555 ever made it to collectors.

Loosely rendered color studies in traditional media for LANDING. Top (labeled 5): The winding staircase set against pastoral background. Bottom (labeled 6): The figure of the man standing with heart over chest has been added. — Traditional color studies for PASSAGE TO SANCTUARY: LANDING

I came back to the idea years later, producing a new painting of LANDING in traditional media. Most notably I changed the figure in the foreground, which can be seen here in detail.

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