I always thought of these two paintings as a pair. I finished both the summer before my Junior year, about a month apart, and they both have the same subject as their inspiration.
Disclaimer: I won't reveal direct inspirations or subject matter of my work.
The painting on the left, Slumber, is more recent, and I have it up in the corner of my living room. It's the motivation for this post, since my friend recently brought it up in conversation, saying that it exactly captures his state going into his last semester of school both as a student and a D1 college athlete.
The painting on the right, Pineapple Juniors, is named after a song that my friend wrote during Spring semester of sophomore year. I gave him the painting as a present after he left school to pursue music full time. I knew he had the drive and the skill to get far, and in the past year and a half he found a worldwide recognition.
Looking at both of them now, side by side, it makes me think of a wave.
The cyclical motion of 2 particles as a wave passes. This diagram does not suggest that one particle moves from the left position to the right position.
Separately the two paintings (in my current observation) occupy seemingly different positions of a water particle in a wave, one "falling" and the other "rising". This movement reveals itself differently. Slumber has a burning Red center whereas Pineapple Juniors has only a bit red glow around the bright yellow. Both have a blending of green and blue, only in opposite directions. One form is rounded and soft, while the other is jagged and sharp. However, in thinking of a rising and falling wave when I see the two paintings side by side, I'm reminded that the particle takes a cyclical path. In its rise and its fall on a wave, it's always moving in the same direction. In that sense, both paintings embody the full cycle of the wave.
If that's true, I wonder if my friend who said the painting captured how he felt as he entered his last semester would agree. I'll try to find out.
Disclaimer: I never attempt to tell people what the "meaning" or "purpose" of my artwork is. However, I figured I should try writing about things I notice in my work as a way of developing new thoughts. Those thoughts are not the definitive interpretation, and I am always excited to hear other people's perspectives. If you have any comments or criticism, please comment.