The Raft
51 x 76cm (20” x 30”) Oil on gessoed panel/£7500
You know how it is when someone tries to explain a joke, it sucks away all the humour. You wish they hadn’t bothered. It’s the same with explaining a painting. A work should be self-explanatory. But if you’re asked to explain by a grandchild, ah, that’s different. The story here is this. When I was age 13, I went on a school trip to Paris. In the Louvre I saw the famous painting by Gericault, The Raft of the Medusa. It was overwhelming, sensational. The terrible tale of destruction, death and cannibalism rocked the French state. Since then, I’ve always wanted to paint a seascape. I was thinking of the sad plight of Trump’s America, when I noticed the letters USA in the word Medusa. Voila, a painting. Am I comparing The Raft to Gericault’s masterpiece? No. His work is 16 by 20 feet! Even if I had his talent, I don’t have ladders that long.
jim@kelso.co.uk 07881 908903
GALLERY
51 x 76cm (20” x 30”) Oil on gessoed panel/£7500
You know how it is when someone tries to explain a joke, it sucks away all the humour. You wish they hadn’t bothered. It’s the same with explaining a painting. A work should be self-explanatory. But if you’re asked to explain by a grandchild, ah, that’s different. The story here is this. When I was age 13, I went on a school trip to Paris. In the Louvre I saw the famous painting by Gericault, The Raft of the Medusa. It was overwhelming, sensational. The terrible tale of destruction, death and cannibalism rocked the French state. Since then, I’ve always wanted to paint a seascape. I was thinking of the sad plight of Trump’s America, when I noticed the letters USA in the word Medusa. Voila, a painting. Am I comparing The Raft to Gericault’s masterpiece? No. His work is 16 by 20 feet! Even if I had his talent, I don’t have ladders that long.
jim@kelso.co.uk 07881 908903
GALLERY