No Boundaries

 I want to not only bring the painting outward to the viewer, but to bring the viewer into the painting so no boundaries exist.

Al Sprague, Artist's Journal, June 14, 1964

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Night Dancers, 2000

It was in the early 2000's. I traveled to Panama on a business trip. Dad had hurt his back so I traveled down with my brother Michael instead. There was so much to be done; so. many people to visit. During the trip I packed up three oils to return to the States to sell. I had run low on inventory and wanted to replenish what I had available for stateside clients. Night Dancers was one of those paintings.

I boxed up the paintings and sent them back to North Carolina. Upon my return I couldn't wait for my boxes to arrive. I was excited to find a new home for these three originals. About a week after my return my boxes arrived on my doorstep. I quickly removed the paintings and lined them up on my wall. I thought, "Well, I can just hang these on my wall for a bit and when I find the right home, I will box them up and send them out."

It didn't take but a few days . I picked up the phone and called Dad to say, "Thank you for my early Christmas gifts. I found a new home for each painting ...mine." 

I love looking into Night Dancers - it has so much depth. At first you only see the girl in the middle dancing in the dark. But the more you look at it, you start to see the background come into focus - it isn't just color but abstract shapes that make up additional dancers and their dresses as they move across the plane of the painting.

Dad threw the windows and doors wide open and welcomed us to walk right into his compositions. We can almost hear the music playing, and see the dresses move. There are no boundaries...and we can be part of his compositions on many levels. 

Thank you Dad for allowing us to be part of something big - to experience the beauty of Panama and its people on all levels through your work. And a special thank you for saying yes to me keeping Night Dancers for my own.