Tuesday, January 25, 2011

MOBY-DICK, Page 544

Title: "For when three days flow together in one continuous intense pursuit; be sure the first is the morning, the second the noon, and the third the evening and the end of that thing - be that end what it may."

14.5 inches by 10.75 inches
acrylic paint on found paper
January 18, 2011

7 comments:

  1. Starbuck has some of the best lines. The foreboding here is so physical that even the first time reader knows it spells doom.

    The imagery is a perfect match.

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  2. For me, it's the size of that eye socket that makes this one work so well.

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  3. hey, the skull whale now! i take it very personal!

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  4. He really does Buck, especially here in the final chapters. At the beginning of this project, I tended to identify the most with Queequeg. Or, at least, I tended to idealize Queequeg the most since he is kind of an ideal human being. As time went by and the novel, and the illustrations, grew darker, my sense of isolation and obsession increased. I began to identify with Ahab more. But here, near the end of all things, it is Starbuck who I truly empathize with. He is s conflicted, so torn by his sense of obedience to God and captain and his genuine desire to help save this man that he loves almost as a father. His lines here during the chase are absolutely heartbreaking.

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  5. Titus, I kept painting that eye slightly larger and larger each time, always thinking"It's not there yet." I agree, the size was crucial. It needed to yawn emptily, like a chasm in the abyss.

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  6. Lizzy, I had been thinking of this image for quite some time, but I would be lying if I did not admit it was in part dedicated to you.

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  7. HURRAY! yes, as the end nears, i am more and more thrilled and i love that i am a little part of an impulse behind this one! thank you so much.

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