JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA
SUMMER HOLIDAY
Colorful, Cinematic, Like stills from a French New Wave movie
Artist Statement
LYRICS FOR HOLIDAY (the Madonna song)
If we took a holiday
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
It would be, it would be so nice
...It's time for the good times
Forget about the bad times
One day to come together to release the pressure
We need a holiday
You can turn this world around
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your troubles down
It's time to celebrate
Let love shine
And we will find
A way to come together and make things better
We need a holiday
For me, the paintings in this series are like stills from a French New Wave movie. The subject is Summer Holiday, but the lush beachy scenes stand in contrast with the ultra modern san-serif titles, which gives me a confusing sense of romantic intrigue and fascination. I wanted them to feel like old film posters...
At the same time, I had Madonna's song "Holiday" stuck in my head a lot of the time I was painting.
I never listen to music (or anything else) while I work, but this song insisted on repeating in my head. For the first time it occurred to me what a bittersweet song it is.... a plea for world peace, really. The way she sings "it would be so nice" is so wistful, hopeful, and kind of sad. It added a layer of existential romantic longing to the paintings.