Original artwork description:

At the time I did this I was living in NYC. Did I sometimes feel like this? Probably. I did not start out to make a portrait of such wistfulness. I simply wanted to do a craftsman style dresser with a reflection, and here is what developed. The title came from the song "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers.

I had fun designing the lamp, purse and matching belt. On the dresser is a letter, with a scrawled name and address which looks like mine from that time. Often I will depict a drawer slightly open with something spilling out a bit. I was pleased with the light switch, which seems to be in the off position.

This is a collage in relief, so it is created to look almost three dimensional. The glues and papers are archival. There is no painting involved. The wood is actually wood veneer on paper. The picture comes matted and ready for a frame and UV glass. Since there is no category for a matted picture, I simply called the second image a studio picture. It was photographed in direct light, which brings out the metallic parts. But such shininess is not quite the way it appears on the wall.

Materials used:

Paper, museum board, wood veneer, archival glue

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