In observation of change, the passing of time, & things forgotten: a few words on my painting, “Oh Restless Night”…
“Oh Restless Night” was made at the same time as “Cut Me in Two”, during a rigorous jag of mixed media experimentalism in 2004. I was painting on several pieces on plywood at the same time in preparation for a show at Randy Bacon Gallery in Springfield, Mo, where the local art scene has really started to shape up nicely- I hope to show there again next year. Anywho, this painting was one of several pieces I created on some really rough looking scrap chunks of plywood to great effect. The edges are jagged and layered heavily with gesso & acrylic color. It hangs freely on the wall without frame, and the verso/hanging hardware is set up so it “floats” just off the wall. I enjoyed thepresentation of these frameless paintings, though the edges are a little vulnerable to damage- I varnished them heavily for extra protection, and to bring a little extra surface unity to all the mixed media elements. “Oh Restless Night” is one of a few that I used star-shaped rhinestones on, and the figure is painted atop two scraps of an old towel gessoed down to the plywood. Some protested to the use of such cheesy/flashy elements in my work, but the colored rhinestones, glitter, & heavy gloss varnish was fun to play with, and I sold this one immediately to a girl who identified with the subject matter due to her experiences with insomnia! Ha! She also thought it was pretty.
What brought me to the creation, I cannot remember- perhaps I too was experiencing some restless nights myself… I just don’t recall the emotion, though it was taken from a drawing in one of my sketchbooks. What’s funny in the immediate sense, however, is the fact that just yesterday I finally purchased a proper & luxurious mattress set from Weekends Only, ridding myself of the preposterous & sunk-in twin I have been sleeping on for 13 YEARS! It’s a quality-of-life-thing people.
