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The Clarity of Empty Vessels, Phase 1

CEV Phase 1 A
14" x 11", oil on canvas, 2019

In the winter of 2017-18 I kept seeing the first painting in this "full-bodied" group of paintings I did in 2010 and, because I really liked how the glass was rendered, with all the distortions and reflections, I came up with an idea for a larger group of paintings that would feature clear glassware as the main subject.

CEV Phase 1 B
20" x 10", oil on canvas, 2019

I felt painting those distortions and reflections convincingly would be a fun challenge, so I collected a few interesting glass items and photographed them in various lighting conditions, emphasizing the fact that they were all empty (more on that later).

CEV Phase 1 C
20" x 10", oil on canvas, 2019

This group was shot at night with extreme lighting mainly coming from above, with additional light sources causing many of those highlights and interesting reflections. 

CEV Phase 1 D
20" x 10", oil on canvas, 2019

I also got to thinking philosophically about a specific area of human nature, and this series became, coincidentally, a literalization of that idea, which I will elaborate on in Part 2.


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