FOUP2020

House paint, raw pigment on wood

The Metropolitan Arts Council in Greenville, SC hosts an annual competition called Flat Out Under Pressure in which pieces must be begun and completed by the artist within 24 hours. I began and completed this piece on Friday, June 21, 2020, but, full disclosure, I didn't realize that the competition was that day until it was too late. Unfortunately, artists have to submit a before and after photo of the piece that proves it was completed in under 24 hours, and I didn't take the required 'before' photo. Alas, here is my Flat Out Under Pressure 2020 piece, unsubmitted to the competition.

On a less nuts-and-bolts level, let me comment on this piece as an artist. I have remarked to people over the years that when I paint, I have a powerful impulse to use orange. In virtually every piece I have painted over the past 15 years, I, at some point in the painting process, seriously consider how I can incorporate orange, and then I think something like "na Blake, back off the orange already!" One of these days I need to just open the flood gates and do an entire body of work exploring the color of orange. Even as I type that my heart rate goes up a little bit from excitement! I must do this at some point in my life!

So this piece, simple and unremarkable as the composition is, really scratches a deep itch in me, because I find it's heat and warmth and pop to be very thrilling. Under the right lighting and on the right wall, this thing could really take on a life of its own in a room.