LUSTROUS
LUSTROUS
LUSTROUS: Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 10 IN.
Lustrous means having luster which is a gentle sheen or soft glow, a shining. This piece is all about playing with visual texture. The metallic teal and golds against the flat, geometric matte elements and crystalline, gloss overlay… this piece is about exploring values.
So many people focus so hard on the things that glitter and shine that their own luster gets dulled in the chase, leaving them feeling hollow. When all the while, it’s a gentle touch that makes people glow. It’s an explosion of laughter that gifts joy to the world. It’s a sincere thank you or sincere apology that brings balance between two people. The true riches in the world are the ones buried within a person’s soul: their love, their passion, their kindness, what they bring to the table just by being themselves. When did the genuine value someone sees in another, in their very nature, get supplanted by what materials they can possess?
I like things that shine and sparkle. I love the velvet sheen in a pretty metallic paint. I love jewel tones against an earthy rust or aged ochre. I love circles that aren’t closed off but open to let more within their space. I love how a line can continue forever, even just imagined at the end of a canvas. I love how glistening textures pick up the light no matter the direction.
There’s so much about this piece that is rich within this composition. But, the things I value the most about it are not the things you can see. The process of making it, the time and execution, the puzzling out the order and textures, these are important things. But, most important to me in my work is the knowledge that the love I have that gave birth to this piece will someday live and breathe in someone else’s space to become a part of their life. It always amazes me and fills me with such gratitude for that bit of human connection.