Stencil, sprayed candied apple caramel automotive paints on oak-cradled aluminum
24” x 24” x 2”
2023

We, artists, always have one eye looking forward to the new exciting work we are planning and one always looking to what our predecessors, the masters are telling us about their lives and practices.

I’ve been inspired by the paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) for a long time. Had he been born earlier he would be celebrated, to the level of Botticelli, but being a master painter in style and subject that he did he’s been largely dismissed as out of touch with his era. I urge you to look at his work, it undeniably has an immediacy and sensual-ness in render and in gesture that is just undeniable to even the most hardened, educated, and cynical

It’s against this backdrop that i give you “i bet you will someday” (caramel), the model brought a mischief, and vulnerability which was exactly my goal. I hope you like it and that WAB would think it’s a fitting tribute to his impact on my life.

This is painted in what hotrodders call a candy apple, which means that the painting has a transparent color over a reflective gold base color. This gives depth and movement to the light as it tracks across the painting which is super frustrating to photograph. And it’s hard to explain the excitement it yields in “real life”.