Preliminary Drawing for The Lantern
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This drawing was created in 2024.
It has been framed with 8 ply archival matting and Artglass AR (anti-reflective) 70™ by Groglass.
Framed dimensions are 10 x 16.5 in.
Lingering Memories
There are certain things that have had an ongoing visual and emotional impact on me since my youth. Things that I can paint and show you, but find much harder to explain their appeal, or why I keep coming back to paint them time and time again.
The first snow flurries of the late fall season for example. How unexpected and pure they look against a heavy grey sky or dark building. Or the weightiness of well settled rocks piled randomly to separate a farmer’s field from his neighbours. One side of this makeshift wall might stay in shadow permanently, where the rocks remain cool and damp from the earth.
Like a tune in my head that plays over and over and will not go away, I keep coming back to these memories and bits of visual snapshots that linger there. I am fascinated by the patterns of melting snow in a spring field where last year’s grass has turned a yellowish brown. I love the rough bark on an apple tree, or a big old pine tree, with its own patterns of light and shadows, and feel the warmth from the sun on it.
The paintings in this show are of such lingering memories. They are small and intimate. And they are among my favourites.
-David McKay, 2024
