January 26, 2016

A New Painting: "Yellow/Green Diptych


Yellow/Green Diptych, egg tempera on calfskin parchment, 2 panels each 8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. 


I like diptychs and other multi panel works: form and color leap from panel to panel, creating a more complex relationship than in a single panel; it is a kind of conversation. I've done many multi-panel textile works, but not so many paintings, which are, for me, more difficult to compose. I did one diptych last year, which you can see here, and one the year before, here. My previous diptychs were horizontal, and I thought I'd try something quite different with this painting, having the two panels aligned vertically. (In the transfer from actual painting to photograph, the space between panels, which was 3/4 inch, appears too wide.) I like the way the large green planes jump from one panel to the next, and have opposite diagonal directions. 



Yellow/Green Diptych detail panel 1


There is a curve in the top panel....


Yellow/Green Diptych detail panel 2


....and several repeating ones on the bottom. These curves also introduce more color. This work was a challenge for me, and I'm not quite sure it's a success, but I intend to keep trying multi-panel paintings.


4 comments:

  1. Success! All of it works for me and I'm excited to see more. I love all the relationships and the "jumping."

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  2. Very engaging...I agree about the "spacing between the panels"...a bit smaller would work much better for the continuity of their relationships and visual transition...I like where you chose to place the physical "break" of the image. Quite an engaging and unified work Altoon.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Rich. The "break" came about from my focus on different parts of a machine.

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