Description
Simply titled “Red Barn,” this large 50″ x 50″ canvas is a deeply personal piece that brings together elements of a home I miss dearly. It captures the red barn in a simplistic, rustic form alongside details from the house I had at the time—including my window, my back steps, and the trees that filled the backyard.
Even though I lived in Gunnison and will always live in Gunnison, I chose to paint Mount Crested Butte towering in the distant background under a deep blue sky. It is a vibrant autumn piece, but it carries a very quiet, somewhat ethereal energy that brings a sense of calm to the entire landscape. It stands as a large-scale, nostalgic reflection on space, memory, and the places that hold onto our hearts long after we leave them.
Within the pages of Wackadoodle the Poodle, this tranquil background plays host to a completely chaotic, hysterical turning point in the story. After breaking out all over the news, Moe and Wackadoodle are utterly shocked by all the sudden attention. They are superimposed here with super surprised looks on their faces, hilariously wearing crowns on their heads to represent their newfound fame. To show that the entire world has heard about their ordeal, I layered in silly illustrations of an airplane, an astronaut, and a massive cruise liner coming in from every direction. It beautifully juxtaposes a quiet, deeply personal landscape memory with the absolute peak of their ridiculous global stardom.