The White Pathway 2006

Stefan Caltia gave us "The White Pathway" and it looks like he did it with oils. Looking at it I wonder what Caltia was thinking, laying down those first washes of pale yellow. Did he know what was coming? Did he know about the floating plateau with those little houses? Or did that just emerge as he worked, one step at a time? I know how that is, when the painting takes over. I love the way the road draws you in, just like those landscape paintings by the old masters. But then your eye travels up, and wow! Floating houses! It’s a simple image really, mostly just washes of color, but it’s got this whole dreamlike quality to it. We are all of us painters in conversation, across time, taking turns and teaching each other how to see.