Illustration Friday: Escape

Filed under: Artwork, Figurative, Illustration Friday — jpohl at 12:04 pm on Friday, September 16, 2005
Sometimes, Oil on Canvas by Jennifer Pohl
“Sometimes…”, Oil on Canvas; © Jennifer Pohl

The word for this Illustration Friday reminded me of a this little tondo I painted one night some ten years ago. It’s hard to read the text on this image, but it contains a quote from one of my favourite poems by Walt Whitman.

I think I could turn and live with animals, they’re so placid and self-contain’d.
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

I am still working on last week’s Illustration Friday word “depth”, but you can see the work in progress here.

9 Comments »

154

Comment by Secret Creatures

September 16, 2005 @ 1:21 pm

I like the expressive texture and the bold composition in your painting. Good job.

155

Comment by isay

September 16, 2005 @ 1:24 pm

i like it so much. texture and colors blended well.

157

Comment by Sarah

September 17, 2005 @ 8:47 am

I’ll have to mention the great texture again! Also love the composition, it feels a bit like a hamster ball (in a good way!).. in that it looks like she can keep running and running and the background will move with her. Not sure if I made any sense there..

158

Comment by Toni

September 17, 2005 @ 10:47 am

I can really feel her escaping. I love the whole design.
Would have liked to see the lettering better.
(just because i do a lot of lettering) ;)

159

Comment by jpohl

September 17, 2005 @ 1:03 pm

Sorry about that Toni. It was photographed on a gallery wall in the days before I started investing in really good copy work. (No offense to the photographer who is a world class photojournalist). Oil paintings (and especially the details in them) can never be the same online as they are in the flesh. (-:

You wouldn’t want to see all the really bad copy work I attempted myself… of so many works I’ll never see again.

160

Comment by carla

September 18, 2005 @ 1:41 pm

Thanks for sharing the text. On a purely visual level, this painting gives the sense of great energy and movement. Your strokes, texture, and colors make me think of a windy spring day after the rain has cleared.

161

Comment by Sultry Painter Woman

September 21, 2005 @ 2:40 am

Terrific… Love the message, the darkness and the design.

163

Comment by Julie Oakley

September 22, 2005 @ 8:48 am

beautiful

164

Comment by Aravis

September 22, 2005 @ 3:18 pm

I really like this quite a lot. First of all, I enjoy the sort of Yin Yang division and flow of the sphere. The textured background and the girl’s running silhouette against the full moon’s light are dynamic and compelling. The quote is the perfect final touch.

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