Metaphors in a Paint Box

Scatter Creek Dusk
12 x 12
Available at Deborah Paris Fine Art

Metaphors are the fuel of the creative engine. Although we usually think of them as literary devices, they really have a much wider application in creative effort-from poetry and prose to dance, music and certainly painting. Metaphors are about putting ideas together, putting things in a different context - or as the poet Emily Dickinson said "saying it slant".

As a lover of words, I have always cherished metaphor. But, as a painter, I really didn't understand its importance to my work until the last year or so. At least since the 19th century, the landscape itself has been a metaphor in painting for many ideas- everything from the Profane to the Sublime, usually in the context of evidence of the Creator's hand. I have a well known still life painter friend who says that all landscape painters eventually become religious. An oversimplification perhaps, but its a well taken point. But, I think the real work of metaphors is to make connections- between our now and our past, and in the case of landscape, the natural world and our emotional world. The visual ideas I am most drawn to and compelled to paint are ones that bring to mind memories of events or, more often, strong feelings and associations. Since my paintings are not narrative in any way, these ideas remain in the background. But, if there is any emotional power to my work, I am convinced that is the center of it.

Indian Summer

Indian Summer
12 x 16
Please contact me if interested in this piece

We have had some incredibly beautiful fall days over the last week or so. Yesterday it was almost 80 degrees, which made me start thinking about the term "indian summer". It turns out to be a uniquely American term, in use for over 200 years, although this phenomena is recognized and called by other names in Europe and other parts of the world. Of course, it refers to a warm period of weather, occurring during a time of the year (fall) when cooler weather prevails. I prefer a less meteorological definition - a metaphor for something that happens at an unexpected time like a late bloom or flowering- something perhaps brief, but cherished for its untimely appearance.

Heading South

Heading South oil 6 x 6
Sold
I think autumn is one of the most evocative times of the year. Unlike spring, which is all about rebirth and looking forward, fall is a reflective time - more about looking back than forward. It can have an almost sensual feel, made even more poignant by the passing days. The word "autumn" itself is a metaphor for loss and the passage of time. I don't know that I got all of that in this little painting, but I sure did try.