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William Nelekona - Long After Dark / MITIOG
$3,500.00

Title: (Front) Long After Dark, Medium: Oil on canvas, Width: 44.5", Height: 24", Depth: 1.25", Year Created: 2023,

Title: (Back) MITIOG Medium: Oil Paint, Oil Pastel, Charcoal on canvas, Width: 44.5" Height: 24", Depth: 1.25"

This painting comes with a Certification of Authenticity signed by artist.

“This is a dual-sided painting, with the nightscape on the front and a spiritual painting (“purposeful doodle”) on the back. The nocturne was painted using a pallet knife. There’s a lot of beauty to be found in the night, oftentimes much more than in the day. For example: This particular street isn’t as becoming to look at in the daytime, (to me) as it is in the evening. A couple of the mailboxes got a little wonky, and I hadn’t realized my incorrect placement until later in the work. I liked it fine, and didn’t change a thing. On the back piece, titled M.I.T.I.O.G., this is one of my “purposeful-doodle’s” where some magic happened. I don’t think the word magic captures quite what I mean. Finding your voice in art can be difficult. We’re pulled this way and that, so being centered & at peace in your heart is an important key to living a fulfilling life. I enjoy lots of things, using different techniques, & subject matter. I’ve referred to this already as a ‘spiritual piece.’ Coming straight from the heart & soul. It’s obvious it’s not painted from physical observation. It was very freeing, very connecting, to try & “tap” into the source, our creator, the one true living & loving God. I want to be closer to God, & when I’m getting that part “right,” it is like magic when creating, because when it’s done, it makes so much sense, at least to me. And I’ll feel like I was not the only one creating with the color in my hand. I’ll rehash the making of this one: I found the sketch of my 2nd born on the back of this blank canvas. I’d completely forgotten about it, until discovering it years later. I’d been camping in eastern Oklahoma, & walked through the woods one night. The moonlight poured through on this path, & it was incredible. I wanted to capture that when I came home. So that was in my heart, as was my daughter being born. Just being a daddy. There’s a childlike dinosaur coming to see the miracle of her arrival, perhaps guiding her. God & an angel(s) blessing her birth, the story of Jesus on the cross that paved the way for us. Also what appears to be boat rowers- maybe a symbol of moving through life. I could go on & on about that. But I really enjoy making those pieces where it flows by looking into the heart and soul and seeking God. Creating from life, our physical world, is important & great too. I can get testy though, & lose patience, as I’m a pretty methodical painter. The nightscape on the other side came out of a quick sketch with charcoal on the canvas, & then attacking it with a single pallet knife. It was much more time intensive; as it came together, I knew it was worth it.”

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