yeehaw .. ! by pamela neswald

Some time ago and in another place I did an insufferably hard number on a work by a painter by name of Jay Alders, a fine fellow it turned out who took no offense despite the rough treatment, he’s just over here. We have corresponded since.

Nevertheless this particular effort  ^ cannot be passed by without measured comment and a cautious and supportive crticism. It cries out for understanding.

Pamela Neswald the painter lives here and try as I might couldn’t find an item to put into the cart – despite the Surfers Journal exposure.

The ‘ Yeehaw ‘ painting challenges the viewer to pass through the doorway marked ‘ Ridicule ‘ then into a pair of  doors marked ‘ What a load of old tripe ‘ and then through the passageway heralded as ‘ Be Objective ‘ and into a small humid room with no windows. There is a message written on the wall in this room that says ‘ be nice. ‘

I am there. Pamela is with me.

Pamela has painted a reasonably heavy mature woman wearing a long-sleeved purple skivvy and string bikini bottom riding a yellow board on a blue wave. The woman is sans brassiere, unattractively so it must be said. We are reminded of that Nat Young * classic ‘ Fall Line ‘ as there is an intriguing symmetry here between the angle of the subject’s descent and the effect of gravity on her unsupported breasts.

She is also wearing lipstick, eye-liner and earrings.

She is surfing.

She has no discernable toes on her leading foot. She also has the thighs of a rhinoceros and we can all be thankful for the thoughtful positioning of her left knee and upper leg.

The fall of some possibly paler water behind her may suggest that she is ‘ in the tube ‘ – however the lack of interaction between the surface water and the edge of her board infers that she is completely stationary, her hair on the other hand painterly remarks that she has either just received an electric jolt or is free falling from a great height.

A little repair work appears to have been done about the upper thigh and buttocks area (if you dare to look closely).

Indeed, it is a challenging work.

On a technical level we believe that Ms Neswald has inadvertantly flipped the hands – The leading hand should be   positioned to caress the inner wall of ‘ the tube ‘ whilst the training hand should be readied to receive a little of the curtain. She has them the right way up but the wrong way around. This is a minor fault and should not affect the asking price.

All up we judge the work to positioned for a niche market and one that may well be some distance from the ocean – for relativities sake. Not on my wall thank you Pamela.

Nevertheless she has scored a spot in the prestigious SJ and we have not – there is a lesson here. Perhaps the smug expression on the subject allows the artist the last laugh.

* thank you tim baker, and our best wishes for the new year.