Ashtray and Chair

30" x 36", oil on canvas, 2001

One day, years after I'd painted this, I thought I messed up the legs of the chair by somehow misaligning the front legs and even forgetting one of them. What I had forgotten in that moment was that the leg that you can see to the left of my name actually belongs to the table behind the chair; the chair itself is supported on a central metal post (visible to the right of my name) on a circular base (just outside the frame). Even after realizing this, it's a weird illusion and still looks like a mistake.

My favourite part of this is the extreme highlight caused by sunlight coming in through the window and blowing out the couch and much of the furniture on the top half of the painting. The contrast of that and the deep black of the chair is kind of exciting.

Here's a close up painting of that ashtray.

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