Lunch Break

This young woman caught my attention because I could feel her sadness. She works somewhere in the area, I thought, and she's eating a quick salad after having shopped in a store to buy something for her newborn. I know this because the shopping bag was labelled "Baby Gap" (not included). I sensed that she longed to be with her newborn rather than at work in the city. Hard masonry and angular lines surround her soft and (my interpretation) vulnerable figure, a thematic contrast that reflects her mood. Drooped forward, she is deflated by an unforgiving circumstance that resigns the care of her baby to the arms of someone other than herself. Click on painting to view larger size.

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Behind the Scene

Another painting in the Reflection series, the mirror in Behind the Scene reveals another dimension to the view of a restaurant's interior. Two wait staff have set the tables and work at their stations in preparation for expected patrons. The view of the room is from a higher vantage point, which allows a good depiction of the beautiful carpeting and dark, rich furniture. The white linen table cloths offer bright relief from an intimate and subdued environment. Light enters hesitantly from side windows, enriching the carpet pattern. Some scenes make you pause the moment you see them. This is one of them, where all the visual elements harmonize, like a good symphony. I look at this painting and it makes my eyes feel good. Click on painting to enlarge.

Inside and Out

Juried into the Hudson Valley Art Association's 79th Annual Exhibition for 2010 and the Salmagundi Club's 33rd Annual Painting and Sculpture Exhibition 2010, this painting is a study in detail of superimposed objects. In one way, it is a trompe l'oeils, because your eye is fooled to perceive what is inside the restaurant and what is reflected outside. The other exciting aspect of this painting is the window frame. It's the most essential part because the foreground surface detail of peeling paint, nicks and dents creates a clear depth-of-field between the interior and exterior.

Discovery II

 
This award-winning painting of a young girl exploring the shoreline is the second interpretation of the same subject. Some subjects are timeless. This one continues to intrigue for several reasons: The pose of her bent form reflecting in the mirrored surf suggests her as an Alice in Wonderland in search of something and finding herself. Completely concentrated on her activity she is innocently unaware of herself, of the tension she puts on her legs, and of the net clamped inside her arm. It's not difficult relating to her private moment when our mind is One with the object, and captivated by our discovery. To see more paintings visit http://www.karlbronk.com