Pentimento refers to visible traces of earlier paintings underneath a final painting. Sometimes these earlier layers are visible because the top paint has become more transparent over time. Sometimes earlier layers are seen with x-rays or other imaging. But always it refers to a part of the painting that the artist later covered up. With this series, I exposed the earlier layers myself, and had some surprises along the way. I don’t always remember every stage of a painting, and I often paint over completed paintings with something completely different. Seeing the choices I had previously made has me thinking about the sorts of choices I now make with my work. But there’s also an analogy to other sorts of histories in my life: people who have come and gone, things I’ve done that are now in my past, those loved ones who I miss every day. An alternate title for this series was Requiem, and they are, in a way, requiems to some sort of past.
Pentimento (1), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 48" x 39.25" x 2.25", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (1), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 48" x 39.25" x 2.25", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (1), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 48" x 39.25" x 2.25", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (6), oil and gold leaf on canvas with rust-patina steel frame, 23.5" x 23.5" x .5", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (3), oil and gold leaf on canvas with rust-patina steel frame, 37" x 36" x .5", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (4), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 58.25" x 45.75" x 2.25, 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (4), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 58.25" x 45.75" x 2.25, 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (7), oil and gold leaf on canvas with rust-patina steel frame, 29" x 21" x .5", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (2), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 22.5 x 33.5 x 2.25, 2023, photo by R.R. Jones, private collectionPentimento (2), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 22.5 x 33.5 x 2.25, 2023, photo by R.R. Jones, private collectionPentimento (8), oil and gold leaf on canvas with rust-patina steel frame, 21" x 22.5" x .5", 2023, photo by R.R. Jones, private collectionPentimento (5), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 36" x 46.25" x 2.25", 2023, photo by R.R. JonesPentimento (5), oil and gold leaf on canvas on panel with rust-patina steel frame, 36" x 46.25" x 2.25", 2023, photo by R.R. Jones