"Stop at Oakdale"
The knotted clouds over a graveyard, reminiscent of the way my stomach feels at the loss of anyone dear to me, were a way to represent my relationship with death at the time. I was thinking a lot of my Grandfather and how I wished he could see me now and answer so many questions. I would walk through a cemetery that was directly next to my house and just think about the idea of loss and impermanence. The reality is, I was spending more time with dead people than with the living. It was an interesting thought and forced me to consider how, most of the information that currently exists, comes from people who are no longer with us. What a wild thought? And a good one. It's good to be alive, not just living.
But, rising above the idea and finding the beauty in the transient nature of life. It is not a lofty painting and I find it very personal. Still, this one idea led to an entire series and allowed me to explore the idea of representation against expression.
Responses (2)
August 09, 2022
Just love the sky. The rich swirls and waves. And the colors in the land and the small village are very beautiful.
August 09, 2022
Josh Niles’ "Stop at Oakdale" is a richly painted, intricately colored, and profoundly emotive composition. The swirling clouds whipped into a calm frenzy by Niles’ brush are reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s richly painted skies. Niles notes that despite appearances, "Stop at Oakdale" is more about an internal landscape than an external one. He likens the knotting of the clouds to the twisting of his own stomach at the loss of a loved one. That unpleasant nausea born of sadness is, in many ways, an allegory for the painting. In the medieval ages and well into the renaissance, people thought the brain was in the stomach because of how often our feelings physically manifest themselves in our abdomens. Much like the gently stormy sky, our emotions are felt in their metaphorical home and not in their place of origin.
- Category
- Expressionism, Semi-abstract
- Type
- Painting - Unframed
- Materials
- Oil, Canvas
- Dimensions
-
28.00 inches wide
64.00 inches tall
1.50 inches deep - Weight
- 5.00 lbs
- Location
- Galesburg, IL, US
