When Times Are Tough (2020)Oil painting
by Don Keene

In this painting a procession of human and partly human characters appears to be moving toward and past the viewer. Something potent and of interest permeates the seemingly pungent air, as an attitude of excitement or foreboding takes shape. The central figure, a youngish woman of enticingly seductive, yet incongruous anatomical attributes, is either buoyed by, or hurtled forth against her will by her companions. The riddle of the mood is further enhanced through the mysterious physical makeup and emotional attitudes displayed by the somewhat surly band of compatriots surrounding the Joan of Arc-like leader. The feeling that something of significance is off here, evoking a scent of impending danger, holds center stage with an equally persuasive, and seemingly competing notion, that better times are yet to come, possibly just around the corner. This work is part of my ongoing series examining the struggle of being human.

Influences, among others, include Max Beckmann, Edvard Munch, Bob Thompson, George McNeil, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Francesco Clemente, R.B. Kitaj and Willem de Kooning.

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Materials used:

Oil paint, gesso, charcoal and enamel

Details:

• Oil painting on Panel / Board / MDF
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 137.16 x 152.4 x 5.08cm (unframed)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Expressive and gestural
• Subject: Nudes and erotic