Cory
Cory (2015)
18½x24¼ Pastel on Pastel Paper
Original is Available
Hard to believe this nearly private oasis was a hive of activity just a few decades ago. Where Cory now swims naked in a hundred-foot-deep pool of clear, cool water on a hot Summer day was once a dusty pit filled with sweaty workmen and heavy machinery tearing into a ridge of marble.
The area where I now live in Vermont was once renowned for its marble quarries, and I was surprised to discover an abandoned one, which is now part of the state's collection of nude swimming holes, practically in my backyard. With a little help from Google Earth, I located it off a nearby dirt road, and sure enough, there was a rather attractive, nude, college-aged guy enjoying what nature had reclaimed. Thus, from the quarry comes this pastel piece. My creative focus was capturing the rugged texture of the cut marble cliffs and the glassy, reflective quality of the deep water mirroring his form.
