Sit ... Stay
Paintings by Don Gray
July 2nd - August 3rd, 2013
Artist Reception: July 3rd, 5-7 pm
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery
335 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97301
For information or purchase, contact the artist at: 951-704-4687,
Email: [email protected]
www.dailyartwest.com www.dongraystudio.com
Dogs have always been a part of my life. In earliest childhood there was Rusty—a beautiful russet colored spaniel. In my teens we had Taffy—a loving and gorgeous golden cocker. In heartbreakingly brief appearances, others have enriched my life over the years, often named after artists: Andy (Wyeth), Rembrandt(van Rijn), Maya (Angelou), Pablo (Picasso).
And now it’s Winslow (Homer), my beloved friend and constant companion. I had already done several paintings of him, and when Mary Lou told me of her idea for a show called “Sit/Stay”, the thought of doing a focused series of works centered around my canine pal seemed irresistible.
On the surface, of course, these paintings are about a dog. But so much of art is about intangibles that go beyond subject matter alone. Visual language picks up where words leave off. In formal terms I’ve tried to find fresh and exciting abstract relationships of color, shape and design. But I also hoped to discover an emotional tenor--equivalents for things that can’t be expressed any other way: the simple elegance of a shaft of sunlight filtering through a window; a sense of sound or of silence in a room; qualities of space and air; a feeling for the passage of time; the fleeting sensation that something just happened or is about to occur.
In short--these paintings for me are a way to speak not only of love for a dog, but of love for the great mystery and profound beauty of life itself.
Don Gray
And now it’s Winslow (Homer), my beloved friend and constant companion. I had already done several paintings of him, and when Mary Lou told me of her idea for a show called “Sit/Stay”, the thought of doing a focused series of works centered around my canine pal seemed irresistible.
On the surface, of course, these paintings are about a dog. But so much of art is about intangibles that go beyond subject matter alone. Visual language picks up where words leave off. In formal terms I’ve tried to find fresh and exciting abstract relationships of color, shape and design. But I also hoped to discover an emotional tenor--equivalents for things that can’t be expressed any other way: the simple elegance of a shaft of sunlight filtering through a window; a sense of sound or of silence in a room; qualities of space and air; a feeling for the passage of time; the fleeting sensation that something just happened or is about to occur.
In short--these paintings for me are a way to speak not only of love for a dog, but of love for the great mystery and profound beauty of life itself.
Don Gray
THE TUNNEL INSPECTOR, oil on cradled board, 23" x 23", $1850
SUNCHASER, oil on cradled board, 20" x 20", $1600
LISTEN, oil on cradled board, 10" x 9", SOLD
LATE MORNING, oil on cradled board, 16 3/4" x 22 3/8", $1150
THE VISITOR, oil on cradled board, 15 1/2" x 20", $1100
UNDER THE TABLE, oil on cradled board, 25" x 20", $1700
LIGHT WEDGE, oil on cradled board, 35" x 27", $2950
DOORWAY, oil on cradled board, 32 1/2" x 48 5/8", $4500
I OWN THE PLACE, oil on cradled board, 13 1/2" x 20", $950
QUIZZICAL, oil on cradled board, 9 1/2" x 20", SOLD
