Artwork by Tom Semmes

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Washington National Cathedral, II

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July 14th, 2010 Posted 5:17 pm

Portal, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Portal, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Another  canvas, painted in late afternoon, of the cathedral. The cathedral faces west and captures the light from the setting sun and just glows. This was painted from the lawn reach is crisscrossed with arcing walkways. I tried to weave a tapestry of contrasting colors which seems to work with the intricacy of the architecture.

Construction/Destruction

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June 20th, 2010 Posted 3:30 pm

Construction/Destruction

Construction/Destruction

This large, 3′ x 4′ painting was inspired by photographs I took of an abandoned field that was slated for a housing development. There was some sign of construction, of freshly dug raw earth and plastic orange  fencing and piles of dirt but basically with the economy the way it is the site has been left in this in-between state for over a year. Right next to this is a new shopping mall that is only half occupied. You can see this in the upper left part of the painting. I think what attracted me originally to the site was the  orange fencing against the green grass. While I worked on the painting I added gestural orange lines that seemed to suggest plans for future building. If you asked me to explain what this painting was about I would say something about the contrast of land as an actual place vs. our concept of ownership and business. But really I just like the way orange glows against the other colors and the spidery lines of dry grass. I feel like the hole in the earth might conceal buried treasure.