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"Comeupance"

"Comeupance"
Oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

$450 (US customers only)  
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I suppose, on the surface, the subject I chose here is one of the reasons why my work is occasionally compared to that of Norman Rockwell (which is nice, but always kind of makes me cringe).  For the most part, Rockwell, an illustrator, showed us caricature Americana.  I usually try to present more evocative, less iconic images.  But sometimes the two ideas meet.  On a bright, sunny day in Two Harbors, MN, during their annual "Heritage Days" festival, this rented rig (courtesy Doucette's Party and Tent Rental) provided entertainment that is unique to the American psyche, akin to bullfighting and the days of the gladiator, complete with all the sadism but no real pain.  We see this kid, who has a broken arm and possibly cancer (the bald head), about to dunk the hell out of this perfectly docile hired dunkee.  I took a lot of reference photos that day (see my "Buyers" painting), but this one really sang for me.  We see this kid gleefully and with all of his might about to win something for a change.  He personified the spirit and resiliency of youth.  The girl in the extreme right foreground must've watched dozens of dunkings that day, distracted now by what?  Something more interesting?  The woman in the distance was casually sitting in her lawn chair as if it were just another day at the colosseum.

Human nature is a funny thing.  Reality TV contributes to a "thumbs-up-thumbs-down-glad-it's-not-me" mentality, pandering to the dark urges deep within us.  I suppose dunk tanks are lame compared to the Christians and the Lions act, but I think they eminate from the same lower brain function that came with the package at the dawn of man.  We all want to win something, as this boy demonstrates, but the means by which that gain is obtained is dependent on the attitude of the individual and the collective atmosphere of the time.  I thought painting this particular scene might give us a little taste of the Rockwellian anti-hero for a change.
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