The House of High Spirits
The House of High Spirits
30 x 40
2006 / #11
Originally intended to be about a group of ladies who were inebriated and all looking upwards, this piece changed as I realized the first idea did not allow for much animation or action to tell a story. The first character to have a face was the gypsy so she set the tone for the rest of the players. I decided to make them a family who had all come for a séance. A couple of them were believers (Grandma and the Auntie) and a couple of them were not (Daughter/Mother and Daughter/Grand-daughter). The non-believers are not fooled by the rubber bat or the ambiance of the electric candles and painted cat/skunk. Perhaps the adult beverages have made a difference. Seems they have not yet noticed the fake crystal ball even though the spray can is sitting right below the youngest character.
My two believers are quite frightened by the elements in the room, not noticing yet that the tarot cards are only 4 of a kind. The oversized eyes of Grandma are not seeing the shenanigans of the gypsy reader who does a little harvesting on the side. She does accept Visa and Mastercard, but some cold hard cash is just as good in a pinch.
The title is a play on the word Spirits for both alcohol and ghosts, as well the personality of the gypsy, as in being high-spirited. The High refers to the consumption of the alcohol and the fact that the figures are looking upward (where ghosts usually hang out in a room according to all the movies that have séances in them). The purpose of this piece was to start off my fall painting season and refresh the muscle memory of my hands with practice at different expressions and angles.
30 x 40
2006 / #11
Originally intended to be about a group of ladies who were inebriated and all looking upwards, this piece changed as I realized the first idea did not allow for much animation or action to tell a story. The first character to have a face was the gypsy so she set the tone for the rest of the players. I decided to make them a family who had all come for a séance. A couple of them were believers (Grandma and the Auntie) and a couple of them were not (Daughter/Mother and Daughter/Grand-daughter). The non-believers are not fooled by the rubber bat or the ambiance of the electric candles and painted cat/skunk. Perhaps the adult beverages have made a difference. Seems they have not yet noticed the fake crystal ball even though the spray can is sitting right below the youngest character.
My two believers are quite frightened by the elements in the room, not noticing yet that the tarot cards are only 4 of a kind. The oversized eyes of Grandma are not seeing the shenanigans of the gypsy reader who does a little harvesting on the side. She does accept Visa and Mastercard, but some cold hard cash is just as good in a pinch.
The title is a play on the word Spirits for both alcohol and ghosts, as well the personality of the gypsy, as in being high-spirited. The High refers to the consumption of the alcohol and the fact that the figures are looking upward (where ghosts usually hang out in a room according to all the movies that have séances in them). The purpose of this piece was to start off my fall painting season and refresh the muscle memory of my hands with practice at different expressions and angles.