Daniel McCoy, Jr.
Sunrise and Setting Moon (A Desert Study) , 2021
Oil and acrylic stain on canvas
42 x 108 x 1.5 in
107 x 274 x 5 cm
I had one unprimed large canvas looming high above the others in my studio. I had intended it for this show, but I was running out of time. I had become such a meticulous painter over the years carefully applying one careful coat after another, I was worried that I was going to be late. My studio mate happened to be painting a large abstract on the floor with these tubs of color, large customized brushes with broom handles and using lots of action. I enjoyed watching him paint and came over with a good case of “paint envy”. The next session at the studio I laid the canvas on the floor and mixed up ten different thinned down stains after a few hours a nice composition began to form. I was happy with the canvas with stain only but knew that I must have one painting that connects with all the paintings in this collection. I thought about a colorful panoramic of my surroundings, the wetland lagoons in La Cienega behind the studio I work at during the day. I wanted the color fades in the mountains to relate to the color fades in the other paintings. I wanted the circular sun and moon to join with the light reflection paintings created the month before. Lastly, I wanted the linework to bridge with everything I submit in this show. I finished this painting a little over a week ago as I write this statement, and I am just now beginning to get back to normal. I worked on this painting everyday after work and developed quite an unusual relationship with it. It made certain memories come back from years ago, I obsessed over these memories while painting this piece over and over. I found this a very strange experience to occur, after the session would end, I would return to my normal general concerns. The few people who got to view this painting during its production phase had instant interpretations to reveal. I enjoyed that it made some people, who were complete strangers to myself, feel something. To the left are the Sangre de Cristo mountains and to the distant right are the foothills and the Sandia’s in the distance. I wanted to paint the area in which I commute around daily. A desert recording of my temporary boundaries while the Sun chases the Moon.
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