Here is “Night Thinker,” a painting I created after sudden inspiration, which is leading me in an exciting new direction!
I am hesitant to call it a new series thus far, but I do have several new paintings in progress that feature people sitting or standing at the base of a Tree of Life, silhouetted dramatically by a giant rising full moon. I’m really loving the new images I am creating, so I’m going to keep painting and see where it takes me!
Night Thinker. 16″ x 12″, Oil on Canvas, © 2016 Cedar Lee
The painting is called “Night Thinker” because the human form here is based on the pose of Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker. My Thinker is a little different, but the pose is close enough that it’s reminiscent of the sculpture. It seemed the perfect position for this person to be in, and gives the impression of deep contemplation that I wanted. You can just feel him lost completely in his thoughts.
Who wouldn’t feel contemplative, given the chance to be present in this setting? I’ve seen the beautiful full moon rising many times before–my very favorite way to see the moon is when it’s just risen over the horizon, and the moon illusion makes it look larger than life. That effect is even more exaggerated here, and in my other recent paintings featuring a gigantic moon.
When I see the moon like this, I can’t tear my eyes away and as I involuntarily start breathing deeper as I’m hit with the wonder of it, my thoughts go to a perspective more outside of myself, at the reminder that billions of other people are also living under the same moon at that very moment.
Close-up detail: Night Thinker. 16″ x 12″, Oil on Canvas, © 2016 Cedar Lee
Aside from the glorious vision of the moon in the blue starry sky, the man is also perched atop a root at the base of the giant tree, which rises up high out of the ground, so he would have had to climb up onto it, after hiking up to the tree over the rocky terrain you can see in the foreground.
The tree itself is strange and unique–it has an upside-down sort of a shape and the branches look kind of like roots, plugging upwards into the sky.
Close-up detail: Night Thinker. 16″ x 12″, Oil on Canvas, © 2016 Cedar Lee
All of this imagery works together to create a strikingly beautiful scene, which I hope most of us can put ourselves into when we look at it. Would you like to be this Night Thinker for a bit? I would!
Night Thinker. 16″ x 12″, Oil on Canvas, © 2016 Cedar Lee
This painting will be available for sale for the first time ever during my Spring Sale May 15-30. Mark your calendar if you haven’t yet. It is exactly one month away now!
The sale will go live at this URL on May 15: http://www.artbycedar.com/spring-sale/ You can read the terms of the sale there now until the end of April, when the page will go under construction as I add info about all of the available artworks with PayPal buttons to purchase.
If you’re interested in owning one of my original paintings, the Spring Sale is something you’ll want to check out. New buyers of my artwork will be added to my Art By Cedar VIPs, a select group of people to get future special offers not available to anyone else. Make your home and your life a little more beautiful by surrounding yourself with art!
More news to come.
