Apotheoun (Tom Livezey at Eleven)

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Garth Herrick

Hi Allan,

I made the frame.
Does it look okay in the little picture?

Garth

I think that it is better than if the paint was put on totally even. Now it looks more like the paint in the painting itself, same vibrations.

You are the master and entitled to decide for the painting, including the frame, that

[Garth Herrick]

Thanks for your affirmative vote of confidence, Allan!

The paint on the frame is quite uneven, and mostly translucent, letting the maple wood peek through. The warmer tints are from the wood, while the paint is a grayish-buff-ochre-(some colbalt turquoise green hints here and there too) related to the paving in the painting. The framing seems cleaner to me as a statement with the painted surface. I just didn't want a perfectly painted surface fearing it would then look too plastic in appearance. Maybe I'm partial to the mysterious graining of wood, so that I could not quite completely lose it.

Garth

[Allan Rahbek]

Garth,
I understand why you chose the wider frame. It

[Garth Herrick]

Hi Allan,

Perhaps you are more verbally articulate and insightful than I have ever been in defining to myself what I was after in the framing. Lebensraum is a new word to me. In its pure sense (and not the Nazi association), you may be close to the mark. There are several bodies cut at the middle and disappearing off to the sides. Psychologically, it may seem more comforting with more of a visual buffer between the painting and the wall environment it hangs upon.

As for the color, I wanted a close relationship to the paving, but not the same color. I like the frame lighter than the paving; why, I am not sure, but a darker frame puts everything into a different value context, with everything glowing too much. With this relationship, it seems to emphasize for me, the chiaroscuro of the boy's body, being the contrast between the light mass and shadow mass; and the shadow may appear more shadowy in context, without a darker frame overpowering it.

As for the extra space I added with the extra strip of wood, I was not happy with the proportional relationship between the frame and the spacing and cadence of certain elements in the painting, and I wanted to change that. Widening the frame by 3/4 an inch seemed the best option to me. Adding more would not have worked well either, making the painting seem too lilliputian in a huge frame. I was looking for a balance comfortable with the painting, and I'm happier with the current solution. Now the space above the upper elbow of the boy does not clash as much with the frame, to me.

Garth

[Allan Rahbek]

Garth,

I was actually thinking of your changing of the frame, and the color of it ,as an extension of the lebensraum of the color of the painting itself. This related to the topic about "Optical Red".

I agree that shapes can be too close to one another and in that way block the free expression of the limb , or whatever.

But more interesting is the unintended restriction of a color if it is not allowed to fill its full potential.
In the case of your painting, it could be that the shadows would look too pale if you used a too dark frame, as you mentioned.

The reversed example, how to emphasize a color, or light, is to extend the effect of it beyond its borders. That was my first idea when I saw your post at first.


Allan

[Garth Herrick]

Hi all,

As I learned yesterday in an official email of decline, and already announced over here at member news , Apotheoun did not make the final exhibition cut for the National Portrait Gallery exhibition opening on July 1. That would have been nice. It still has to be a very interesting exhibition of current American contemporary portraiture, whatever is included. Space apparently allows for just about half of the 100 semifialists to show.

I am so grateful to everyone here for all the tremendous cheer and support during this very lengthy competition process. We all should get another chance at this Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in three years when this particular competition recycles again.

So, a hearty thankyou to all!

Garth

[Garth Herrick]

Yikes, better than 8,000 views today!

I just received a very nice note of encouragement from the Contract Registrar at the Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery, within an email detailing the procedure for the return shipment of Apotheoun. Citing Apotheoun as a personal favorite, she made my day!

Garth