"The Samurai" Framed poster

       I made this painting during my “residency” at Jugglers Art Space in Brisbane, Australia, shortly after visiting Japan. It is somewhat of a pair with my “Anicca” buddha painting, as these two were created in the same space and time during my travels, and together mark the genesis of a new aesthetic for me. Statues and sculptures proved to be the most impactful objects during all my travels, and have predominated in my murals. This Samurai piece is where I started really pushing the temperature contrast within my newfound color palette of vibrant blue-greens against a warm brown atmosphere, and also marks my first use of spray paint, which creates the speckled atmosphere that I love and have continued to expand upon. I remember being super nervous about spray painting the image, because I had no skills with a can and it's a pretty irrevocable mark.  I use spray paint to gradually build atmosphere, where the countless tiny specks appear as airborne particles at varying distances re