Darius

"Darius," 2009, raw pigment, pastel, and gold leaf on handmade paper, 7"x9"

There is something resonant about a grand landscape space presented on a tiny sheet of paper. It’s not just the magic trick of making something small read big– though that is fun. As Jake Berthot once pointed out to me– small scale implies distance, so a small scale painting of a distant landscape benefits from a multiplier effect. Turner and Constable both knew this well. One well placed pencil line tracing across the paper can set the mind to wander through a distant dream. And though I’m not either of those painters, I’d sure like to have just a little bit of the booming distance they so effectively contained on scraps of paper.

This drawing is part of this year’s Dieu Donné benefit exhibit. There will be an opening reception September 17th (tonight!) from 6-8PM at 315 West 38th Street, New York, NY. Details about the show and benefit can be found on the Dieu Donné website.