This painting was created for a local art exhibit. Unfortunately, though I finished it in time (actually before time!), I missed the deadline.
The theme of the exhibit was music. When I begin a piece I don’t usually have anything in mind. I just begin with gestural marks. Based on my mood they might be big bold shapes using a giant permanent black marker, or light strokes of a water-soluble crayon. I’ll then add layers of color. From there it starts to take on a life of it’s own. I add and subtract layers. One piece might be heavy in texture where another won’t have too much at all. I use different mediums to create the layers – crayon, gel mediums, oil pastels. Each plays a part in the finished piece.
In this particular piece, the title came about half-way into the painting. The mix of blues and greens I was using gave me a “murky” feeling. I think because I had been talking with Mel about his recent trip to Louisiana, my mind went to the south. Following that lead, I did a google search of the Blues. I read about a particular style of Blues called the Delta Blues. Some of the more well-known artists I listened to were are Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Leadbelly and Robert Johnson. But, it was the song, “Scary Delta Blues” by Son House that inspired the finished painting. These lines from the song jumped out at me –
“The sun going to shine my back door some day
Sun going to shine my back door some day
Oh the wind gonna rise and blow my blues away”
Son House is known for his highly emotional style of singing. Click here to learn more about this musician
20×20 mixed media on canvas (unframed)
To read more about the process I used in creating this painting read my earlier post, A Bit of Cold Wax.
The piece is available for purchase. If you are interested contact me at sales@sgturnerart.com