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The Color of Rock
III
(Oil on canvas, 12" x 12")
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Was It Cézanne?
For Ruth Riley, The Color of Rock III.
Was it Cézanne who said that a painting
should be truer than the real thing? Which,
not to exaggerate, would mean something
closer to the abstract than dabs of pigment
show. But if reality outshines the artifice,
there’s nothing left but faithful serving
of the prototype. The way that beauty rises
out of randomness. The way that rocks are
split by ice and filled with grit. The way
that tiny flowers bloom beside the lichen.
The way we find repose, and permanence,
settling our unaccustomed eyes against
the irreducible aptness of the earth. |
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