Lovers of the Lake , © John O’Grady
12″ x 12″ x 1.5″, oil on canvas, ready to hang.
NFS (Not for Sale)
‘Lovers of the Lake’ is the title of a short story by Seán Ó Faoláin. It deals with the conflicts of the spiritual and the physical, but it was the title that intrigued me and sent me off on a flight of fancy.
I thought about the lovers only finding sanctuary for their love at the lake and they in turn love the lake dearly. A symbiotic intertwined relationship is found with each other and their love of nature for they are the ‘Lovers of the Lake’.
The paintings title came later in the process but the genesis for this piece was the meeting of apparent opposites.
The angular silhouetted forms of the trees rise into the sky on the far bank and touch the rounded forms of the back lit clouds. The gold and yellow/green light of twilight places in relief the blue purple clouds drifting by. And of course there is the reflection of the trees in the water.
All is interconnected yet separate, just like the lovers in the boat who are on a journey together, drifting and drifting on the still waters. The horizon, noted with a slightly warmer colour on the water, is barely discernible.
The overall patterning of the flattened paint surface gives the painting an otherworldly quality as if seeing the world through an age of innocence…
I’d love to hear what you think about this mysterious painting of the lovers in their glowing blue boat.
Also, I have been working on a few paintings during the week. One of them called ‘The Wave’ is an acrylic on watercolour paper.
I’m documenting on video how it’s coming to life.
The painting started life as an exercise in loosening up and day one was a bleeding wash of blues and violets. What you’ll see below is Day 2 (my video skills is very much a work in progress too!).
I’ll email further videos showing how the painting is progressing over the next few days.
I’d love to read your comment about the painting and the video.
There is something about this that draws me in and sets the imagination stirring John. Perhaps it is, as you say ‘the meeting of apparent opposites’ but I think it may also be the two figures in the little boat surrounded by, even dwarfed by, the enormity of the trees, the sky, the clouds and large expanse of water. They are balanced between what is above and what is below and those marvellous reflections. I think perhaps there is something about the simple, restricted colour palette too – it seems to desire careful looking.
I also enjoyed and found your video interesting – fascinating to see the creative process underway; more mystery! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Hello Chris
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you picked up on the scale of the figures and the boat set against the ‘enormity of nature’. I was trying to get at that in the painting but not too overtly. I agree with you about the restricted palette invites a moment of pause. Your comment made me think about how as you say things are balanced above and below but perhaps also how the shapes are balanced next to each other