Vertical Sprawl

I originally painted this canvas to be part of a series I was working on.  I had a specific idea for this series and this was to be the first work.

Vertical Sprawl

However, by the time I got to the point you see in this painting, I realized this was not the right background to convey the ideas I had.  So I actually started another canvas as the first in the series (this is still in progress and not ready for showing yet.).

Meanwhile, I had a finished painting and was not sure what to do with it.  One option, taken by many artists in the past, would be to sand down the paint on this canvas and then gesso over it. (This way, the canvas doesn't go to waste as it can then be re-used.) Gesso is the thick white ground, that is used over raw canvas to create a painting surface.  As I work in oils, it's always possible to cover over things anyway; this is why modern x-ray technology often reveals older work under the surface of well-known canvases.  Surgeons bury their mistakes while artists paint over theirs!

The artist at the opening

However, I didn't take that option and put the painting to one side.  Then I read the call for artists for Gallery 1313's Eco 2011 show, in which they wanted to feature work about environmental issues, including air quality, energy conservation, "buying local", and urban sprawl.  I thought this painting was a natural fit in the urban sprawl category and so I christened it "Vertical Sprawl" and submitted it.

You can see it on display at Gallery 1313, starting March 16 through March 27, 2011.  The opening party is on March 17 between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.  Gallery 1313 is at - not surprisingly - 1313 Queen St West,. in Toronto between Lansdowne and Dufferin on the south side of Queen.  There's a Green P parking lot right next door, and it's on the Queen streetcar route.

Part of the opening night crowd

...and another part...

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer