Just Temporary

It was purely accidental that I ran across an image of a young man working in an orange grove. The colors blended so well together, just as they do in nature. However, he was wearing a colorful jacket and workout pants that made the contrast even more dramatic. I was immediately struck by the symmetry of the values in the photo and knew I had to try my hand at coming up with something similar. There is a peacefulness to the image of this young man hard at work. You know it’s not his lifelong ambition, but more of a temporary act to make some money. He has other plans that are much bigger and much further away from the orange grove.
I think you will agree that someone working as a day laborer wouldn’t dress in a manner not suited to the task at hand. Years ago, in college, during the harvest season, we would often go into the surrounding farms to pick potatoes. It was very hard work and the pay was ridiculously low even for a college student with no other skills. I’m sure there are many people who have done manual labor out of necessity and appreciate the sense accomplishment when the task was completed.
I wanted to do this quickly, so I used acrylic on canvas. The reality was that I really took my time, because it was so enjoyable creating the experience for this young man.

Acrylic on canvas, unframed size: 16″ x 20″