Skill Builders
Museum.Theclassically
designedbuildingisgettinga
steel-and-glassaddition.As
anarchitectanda strongsup-
porterofthemuseum’swork,
I’vefollowedeachstageof
theprojectwithinterest,my
cameraalwayshandy.Among
themanyphotographsI’ve
takenoftheworkinprog-
ress,oneinparticular(at
left)suggesteda painting—
a diptychtocontrasttheold
andthenew.
Asit stood,unedited,the
photowascrowdedwith
elementssuperfluoustothe
contrast.Theheavyequip-
mentatthebaseofthe
construction,theextension
ladder,thehangingcables,
thefacelesselevatortower
ofcementblock—thesewouldplayno
roleinmypainting.Instead,I envi-
sioneda starkcontrastofstoneand
steel.I croppedthephotoseverely,
savingonlythetopfourth—andnot
evenallofthat.I eliminatedsome
beamsandtheviewofanadjacent
buildinginthebackgroundtocreate
moreinterestingnegativespace.TheStoneandSteeldiptych(top;25½x43)
marriestogethertheoldandthenew,asseen
intheoriginalphoto(above).I kept the knotted rope, dangling like
a necktie, its softness a counterpoint
to the hardness of the steel. And I
added to the frieze a detail the photo
hadn’t captured—its upper band and
light green patina.
Nearly finished with the painting,
I saw that the block of white stone
needed more than marbling and a
patch of sun to give it life. With this in
mind, I restored the outermost cable,
moving it inward to cut across the face
of the stone, an echo of the rope. As a
final touch, I added to a steel column
the stenciled logo, “J & L,” in memory
of my dad, who worked for 30 years
at Jones and Laughlin Steel (see Stone
and Steel, above).
In the process of working with
diptychs and triptychs, I’ve discov-
ered that purposeful fragmentation
can do more than increase the aes-
thetic pleasures of a painting. It can
also enhance its meaning. PJPamela Winkler (pamelawinkler.com)
graduated from Miami University in Ohio,
with a bachelor’s degree in art history and a
master’s degree in architecture. She worked
as an architect before becoming an award-
winning full-time artist in Asheville, N.C.16 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019