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Chaussee pour Commencer 2016
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31"x 42" framed Wood J Lawrence wrote that he finds this piece meaning 'in the beginning of the road" as an awakening rather than a sunset. he said "This was exactly where I found myself with no idea where I was headed at the time. I was constructing it.I knew no matter where this road takes me , I felt a need to tell the viwer through my art you must find your own way in only your own way. Do not keep squinting at the horizon and what you will have at the end of the road. You will miss all the nuances in the road as you walk down it, and don't miss the ever changing sky as the sun rises. I knew that once I started with this endeavor , I could not turn back.
I welcome you to my road of 'woodscapes' and enjoy the journey.
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Dance of the clouds at Sandpiper Bay 2017
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J Lawrence wrote, 'the construction of this piece is made with naturally treated cedars, pines and balsa woods heated, soaked, or just buried in clay they all became my palette from which to work. Many small shaped pieces were deliberately used to build moving from background to foreground, just as I construct my paintings. The clouds are made of balsa and soft pine with wood putty and their reflection with thinner woods. This is complete joy working with wood.' J Lawrence continued working his 'woodscapes' throughout the spring into late fall 1986. and before it snowed he made his way down to South Florida where he continued working year-round with his 'wood scapes' as well as his other paintings.
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WINTER WOODED 2018
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This scene is when the artist went back to Western NY during the winter. The artist could relate the effect of the sun on the snow separating the colors and washing out the brilliance on the snow. This had a similar effect as the key light did down south, but not as strong. The light in the trees in the right side of the canvas especially leading to the background have a beautiful glow that the artist portrayed with very fine branch-work coupled with human hair. The shadows on the road in the road in the foreground have multiple strips of varying woods. The artist created the white blotches snow with wood putty. The entire woodscape has multiple layers upon layers of wood pieces throughout the entire work creating a larger 8" relief from the canvas.
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Smokey Woods 2018
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The artist was always intrigued by fog or smoke and how it's atmospheric, ethereal effect sometimes obliterating the subject matter completely. The Alleghany Mountain gorges were gorgeous when filled with the morning mist and fog. The artist captured the light's brilliant effect as sun began to diffuse the fog. The tiny pieces of pine and cedar woods cerate the sedimentary rock. wood putty gives the white mist its glow.
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Gorge-ous 2020
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The Alleghany Mountain gorges were notorious for falling rock. This deeper cavern at times had rocks that fell from the top. The sun was just right over the ridge exposing the shiny sides of these rock formarions. The artist was intrigued by the trees at the top of the ridge exposing their roots over the edge. JL used mahogany, ash and tree bark while building up these rock formations. The rocks in the f oreground on either side became 12" off from the canvas surface. This was the most complex woodscape because of the multiple layers of rock formations mixed with trees. The trees became nearly obliterated as they rose upward. This woodscape is the artist's most challenging and most accomplished.
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Gate of Kiev sketch 2020
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This wood rendering is a sketch for the artist's 'Great Gate of Kiev'. J Lawrence's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' consists of 10 paintings that were derived from Mussorgsky's musical work of ten tonal 'Pictures at an Exhibition' with the Great Gate of Kiev being the final no.10 explosive, climatic finale piece. Abrams needed to "build" that piece physically in order to get his visual rendering of that great musical finale no. 10 painting. He built layer after layer the painting just as the wood sketch is built. He built this wood piece and now uses it as the "promenade " piece just as Mussorgsky used it as an introductory piece and interlude between paintings. This piece is now the beginning of J Lawrence's revisiting his "Pictures at an Exhibition" after 28 years of his original solo exhibition of the same. However after more in-depth research of Victor Hartman's exhibition and Mussorgsky/Ravel's score, J Lawrence is now going back to the "drawing board" or painting board 2020-2021.
