Full Moon Rising 2020

Mark Maggiori made this landscape with a figure and a full moon in oil paint. I like to imagine Maggiori starting with the sky. That pale, atmospheric ground is so important. Then the horse, so solid, moving through those bushes, each little brush stroke catching the light. Painting’s all about decisions, right? Where to put what, how much detail, how much to leave out. That blanket draped over the rider looks soft, maybe a little too clean for the setting, but that contrast makes it pop, you know? I wonder what Maggiori was thinking about the old West when he made this? It feels classic, but with a modern sensibility. Like he's tipping his hat to Remington and Russell, but doing his own thing. And that moon! It draws your eye, doesn't it? Like a spotlight, or a thought bubble. Painters are always talking to each other across time, picking up threads and running with them. It’s about a sense of looking forward, but remembering where you came from.