TM8481 The Moments Coalesce 36×44 oil on panel

The Moments Coalesce is as much about the process of painting as the place (which is the smaller pond at Hamlen Woods in Wayland, Massachusetts). When I begin a painting, I have a specific place, day, and time in mind – and a vantage point that says something about the whole by way of a singular part. Like the view through a keyhole, I find that it is often necessary to sneak up on a place to find its heart. Once the painting is started, I assemble the bits and pieces of information that will strengthen its narrative, the “telling details”, and omit all that is unnecessary. In truth, the painting becomes a collage of moments in time that are woven into a seamless whole. In that process, reality is heightened and we are offered a glimpse into the soul of a place – a moment when time seems to almost stop and let us in. Details below. Enjoy!

Technical painting notes: Begun with dark, brown/black oil paint applied with a brayer then manipulated with plastic wrap and paper towels, the painting’s effects are primarily reliant on repeated glazes applied with soft watercolor brushes and finely “spattered” paint (I used a fluffy, nylon hair wash brush tapped against a paint stick). The key is in layering directly painted details, glazes, and the spattering.

TM8481 The Moments Coalesce – detail from upper right of center showing pollen floating on the pond

TM8481 The Moments Coalesce – detail from upper left quadrant with vegetation floating on the surface, reflections showing through

TM8481 The Moments Coalesce – detail from center with reflections of tree trunks, last year’s leaves