As you know, dear Artsies, our time in the California high desert is quickly coming to an end. We are this very moment packing and preparing to leave Joshua Tree on Saturday. As much as we’ve been looking forward to this day, anytime you make yourself at home anywhere, leaving can be the slightest bit bittersweet. In each new spot, we find ourselves searching, contemplating.. could we live here permanently? Could this be home? Very often we find the answer to that question rather quickly, but it doesn’t diminish how unique we find each place and how each one carries its own memories. The work of Kansas City artist Robert Josiah Bingaman resonates with the recollections of moments we find with each place we visit.
Texas, acrylic on linen, 102×61
I-70 Drive-In, acrylic on birch, 24×18
Bingaman captures the magic of those flashes in time, when we become engrossed in the scene in which we find ourselves, instead of thinking of where we are headed next. We see the beauty in the simplicity of neon against a night sky or a small corner of a big world.
Trex Northwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16
Trex Southwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16
It’s so easy to focus on what isn’t right about a place. Especially as Mr. F and I always know that for now, each spot is just a temporary home. But we’ve found that once a place is just a memory, we tend to recall it more fondly. Its flaws fade and we learn to love it from afar.
Nevada, acrylic on linen, 120×54
To see more of Robert Josiah Bingaman’s work, please visit his website.
Artist found via New American Paintings. All images via the artist’s website.
