The Entrance to the Otherworld

This is from a new series of middle-sized (for me) acrylic paintings on plywood. It's a symbolist-leaning piece (reminds me a bit of Böcklin, with its inky sky and shrouded figure). The portal/tomb structure is actually influenced by a recent trip to the Mayan Riviera of Mexico (the three windows at the top come from "El Castillo" in Tulum). The pomegranates (or apples or whatever they are) are for Persephone. It's twilight, and the open door beckons.

The Entrance to the Otherworld, 2018, acrylic on plywood, 20" x 16".

The Citadel at Dusk

New small acrylic painting:


The Citadel at Dusk, 2009, acrylic on board, 12" x 9". Click image for larger.

I was experimenting with a return to a type of "surrealist" painting, as made popular by Dalí, Tanguy, Magritte, et al, where the background seems to be brushed in first as a kind of gradated field, and then the foreground elements (or, in this case, background, I guess) are added afterwards. It tends to give things a smooth, photographic look if used in a certain way. I'm trying to use this method in a slightly more painterly way, I hope, to roughen things up a bit, and the end result reminds me of Richter, to a certain extent. Anyhow, I thought this was worth posting here. I have a little production line thing happening right now with this experiment, so I'll probably post a few more if they turn out OK...