Murmur, 2016 ©John O’Grady
8″ x 10″ oil on panel, requires framing.
SOLD
I came upon this fallow field a few weeks ago when I stopped to look at the clouds gradually changing from orange and reds to a deep blue violet colour in the setting sun.
The clouds were silhouetted against the evening sky in the foot hills of mountains close to Sault where fine lavender thrives. Come summer, the air is filled with its perfume and the beautiful blue purple fields are everywhere, but on this cold damp February evening, this field was muddy with glistening pools of water.
This quiet view I just happened to come upon, spoke to me, asking me to listen hard.
There wasn’t a sound.
I stayed watching the fading light turn the field from brown to black and the mountains meld into the night. It was powerful and charged.
When I came to start this piece, what was I painting?
I wasn’t trying to replicate the shape and colour of clouds, mountains, treeline and field. What I wanted was to live again that charged feeling, the solitude and connection that was so strong when the land spoke to me.
This painting is full of whispers, small imperceptible shifts of tone and colour.
The shift from field to treeline and then to the mountain is quietly modulated along horizontal bands to give balance and stability.
That evening, I learnt that what is apparently the most mundane subject has potential to enrich us if we listen.
Have you come across such a situation where what’s ordinary can become so much more?
I would love to hear what you think.
The description of your experience is very evocative, John, but even without it your painting conveys this atmosphere and feeling. I had similar experiences on the coast of Ireland, many years ago, where I felt that my surroundings were conscious, as conscious of me as I was of the land and sea and air, and I sensed that the boundaries between my body and the rest of the world were disappearing. It was very powerful and “charged,” as you say, and hard to describe. The mood in this image is hushed and somewhat somber, especially in the foreground, but as the eye moves up and back there is an openness that feels mysterious, holy, and hopeful.
Hello Jo,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment on the painting and for recounting your experience, that must have been extraordinary. On the coast of Ireland where the ‘veil is thin’ sounds like the perfect place to sense that feeling of interconnectedness and dematerializing,
If we are truly interconnected form no longer has the same relevance, if that makes sense. It’s gratifying to hear that the painting stirred such powerful memories.
You have got me thinking about this now John – you have described the feelings extremely well in the written word but your visual expression of the emotion is in the creation of this lovely painting.
Hello Christine,
Thank you for your insightful comment. The written words are often agonized over, finding something that will correspond to the painting. I am glad to hear that the painting and words made a connection with you.