Dancing in the Sky evokes a moment of awakening—when motion brings the body and spirit fully to life.
Inspired by Sergei Polunin’s performance in Take Me to Church, filmed by David LaChapelle, I saw in the Ukranian dancer’s leaps a powerful metaphor: the ascent from confinement—physical, emotional, even existential—into something lighter, freer, and briefly transcendent.
From video stills, I selected seven poses as the dancer launches upward from a crouched position, reaching toward the sky. I painted each gesture as a separate layer of motion, letting the body’s arc tell its own story. The clouds are not merely backdrop—they are part of the air he pushes through, rising with him. It is a visual capture of those rare moments when momentum breaks through heaviness—when something lifts and carries us.
Part of my ongoing Motion Series, this painting reflects my interest in how bodies move through time and space—and how painting can hold that rhythm.
MOMENTUM
provides the translucent tranquility to complete the energy explosion felt in both Dancing in the Sunset & Playing at the Shore.
I reveled in your depth of color, form & detail that culminated in the last of your trilogy…
Thank you for sharing your ever reaching gifts!
Thank you, Cindy, for your inspirational comment.
I enjoy your motion pictures. I love the white and blue movement.
Well done.
In 2023, this painting won first prize in Two-Dimensional Art at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, MI. In 2024, the same center rejected my Blackbird over Sleeping Bear Dunes. The mysteries of juried shows… one year you’re on the postcard, the next you’re on the cutting-room floor. Onward!