I was influenced by Franz Kline for these two paintings. Kline didn’t just move paintbrushes on a canvas without intent as many think he did. His abstractions and expressive brush strokes are meticulously planned from previous sketches, some such as the image of chair blurred by the focus of a camera lens or a blurred projection. A little of planning can bring a seemingly expressive artwork to another level as you’re more careful of form. With these two, as the titles suggest, I grabbed a drawing pad and throughout weeks I wandered around Sherbrooke, Qc sketching and tracing shadows. After I had a good bank of references, I chose my favorite shapes of shadows and collaged new compositions. And from two new compositions I made these two very large and imposing paintings. Now, why didn’t I go black on white like my mentor Kline, well, using two tones of black conveys more of a shadow like feel. Furthermore, the high gloss black makes the shadows somewhat lively as you move in front of it, as would your own shadow. There’s another important reason for my choice of high gloss black on Matt black, it cannot truly be photographed. The painting changes too much as you interact with it and as lighting changes. Thus, in addition to their imposing size, you need to experience these works. You cannot fully understand them by looking at them online or eventually a textbook, you need to experience them. Shadow study #2. March 2018. TREMCLAD® Water-Based Rust Paint on canvas. 243.84cm X 121.92cm, 96” X 48”.