The Dance

This pastel drawing was inspired by a work by Matisse in which there is a circle of dancers. I have always found Matisse's compositions to be interesting, while the actual work feels painful to my eye, confusing to my mind, and unsettling to my spirit. His intentions were to create raw joy in his works and at least in my case was never successful. In this piece I have imitated the basics of his composition, while rectifying the things I found to be preventing my own sense of joy. The work made one element at a time on different colors of pastel paper and then finally constructed in to one piece. The final piece appears to be a scroll when on the wall.