Safe Haven is an oil painting by artist Carla Strozzieri which depicts a shadowy wooded landscape looking out over a sunny body of water with mountains in the distance. In this view, it is seen in bright light.
Il Porto Sicuro
Safe Haven pictures a dark, wooded landscape which looks out over a sunny, distant shore, with a mountain behind. It is a painting which, for all its blues, has many different colors, which are distinctly difficult to photograph. I wish you could see it in person.
In a year when I have not been able to focus on my painting, this work took a long time to evolve. It started from a simple drawing of a courtyard outside of the lounge area of a nearby university, and grew into a figment of my imagination. All the time it has been developing in fits and starts while I have been distracted by the most compelling election season that I can ever recall. And while that election process is still unraveling, I have managed to complete this work, which despite its tranquil appearance, is fraught with my personal concerns about the state of the world. As we who live here in America are keenly aware of the shortcomings of our political system, many of us are also horrified to know that around the world people are suffering because of the irresponsible actions of our politicians and others like them. My heart aches to think of so many poor, displaced people, so many sufferers throughout the planet. It is to them that I dedicate this work.
The painting itself is rather dark, and only reveals itself when seen under a bright light. This is intentionally so. Although many of my works bear pain and sorrow beneath their tranquil exteriors, this one quite specifically was intended to keep its shadowy quality. In fact, as the piece developed, I was thinking to call it The Search for Refuge, but in the end, decided that it would be more kind to give the viewer the sought-after place of safety, rather than leave her on the river bank looking for it.
As mentioned above, there are distinct difficulties that come with trying to accurately photograph a painting which has so many transparent layers of paint. The striking look of the finished product is lost to the eye of the camera, and justly so, for if paintings could be so easily imitated, what would be left to recommend this venerable art form? And so I am left to congratulate myself on achieving the goal of painting a work which no one photo can define, while I lament that the form in which it is offered does not adequately convey the unique qualities that only oil paint can achieve. For this reason, I include here an additional view of this work, taken in bright sunlight.
In a year when I have not been able to focus on my painting, this work took a long time to evolve. It started from a simple drawing of a courtyard outside of the lounge area of a nearby university, and grew into a figment of my imagination. All the time it has been developing in fits and starts while I have been distracted by the most compelling election season that I can ever recall. And while that election process is still unraveling, I have managed to complete this work, which despite its tranquil appearance, is fraught with my personal concerns about the state of the world. As we who live here in America are keenly aware of the shortcomings of our political system, many of us are also horrified to know that around the world people are suffering because of the irresponsible actions of our politicians and others like them. My heart aches to think of so many poor, displaced people, so many sufferers throughout the planet. It is to them that I dedicate this work.
The painting itself is rather dark, and only reveals itself when seen under a bright light. This is intentionally so. Although many of my works bear pain and sorrow beneath their tranquil exteriors, this one quite specifically was intended to keep its shadowy quality. In fact, as the piece developed, I was thinking to call it The Search for Refuge, but in the end, decided that it would be more kind to give the viewer the sought-after place of safety, rather than leave her on the river bank looking for it.
As mentioned above, there are distinct difficulties that come with trying to accurately photograph a painting which has so many transparent layers of paint. The striking look of the finished product is lost to the eye of the camera, and justly so, for if paintings could be so easily imitated, what would be left to recommend this venerable art form? And so I am left to congratulate myself on achieving the goal of painting a work which no one photo can define, while I lament that the form in which it is offered does not adequately convey the unique qualities that only oil paint can achieve. For this reason, I include here an additional view of this work, taken in bright sunlight.
Comments 4
Un abbraccio!
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