Rower

5-1/2 x 15 Oil on wood panel

This is my entry for the DSFDF Challenge for Weeks 39-40. Reference for this painting was a photograph provided by Karin Jurick on her blog Different Strokes from Different Folks where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. Once again painting on a prepared wood panel enabled me to crop the painting when it became evident the boats in the background were adding nothing to this piece beyond my struggle to include them. My intent was to combine the photo of the rower with one from Wet Canvas. Traces of the boats and reflections still provide a bit of color. This was fun but I prefer painting tomatos and onions! A face and hands this tiny are indeed a challenge!

James Cox at Mountain Diamond Poetry sent this poem inspired by the painting. What a compliment! Thank you very much, Jim!

The Rower

Flat out into the water,
the rower leans to the pull
then digs hard, pulls hard,
and the boat skims forward,
a rush forward
though she faces back:
looking that way
she sees where she has been recede:
where she goes
will be her late discovery.