Last Day of Duality & Grass Series: No. 5b - Hope Returns

Grass Series - No. 5b: Hope Returns(triptych)

acrylic & mixed meda on canvas, each panel 30"x20", 2010

This painting was originally inspired by this quote from the Indian poet, Arundhati Roy:

"Not only is another world possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing."

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I very much enjoy working on triptych (3-part) paintings. I find it incredibly liberating to be able to not only rotate the canvas; but to also be able to swtich panels from left to right, top to bottom...and try to make it all fit together, while still making compositional sense at the end of the process.

This painting first debuted at the group exhibition in Education City in Doha, back in 2007; and was entitled, "Grass Series: No. 5 - Hope".

Although it may have seemed finished back then, there was something else that I wanted to do to the piece - but I just didn't know what it was yet.

So as I was completing Grass Series No. 6 (three years later), I put these back on the easels and got back to work.





Hope Returns - underlayer 1

Hope Returns - underlayer 2
I changed up the order of the panels...

Hope Returns - underlayer 3
...and started sketching in a blossom.

Hope Returns - underlayer 4

Hope Returns - underlayer 5
Then I wanted the flower to seem as if it's growing amongst wild grass.

Hope Returns - underlayer 6
So, I began to add more and more wild, free-form blades.

Hope Returns - underlayer 7
And then I felt that it was finally complete.

Grass Series - No. 5b: Hope Returns(triptych)

acrylic & mixed meda on canvas, each panel 30"x20", 2010