In the Mines

In these paintings, “In The Mines”, I relflect on mining both as experience and as metaphor. By studying the images of miners and their environment, by observing how light rises from candle flames onto faces and bodies, by actually working in the dark with darkness as ground, I have tried to understand how it feels to go deep beneath the surface in search of something of value. 

Philip Buller 2009
 

Candlelight Faces, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 80" x 60"

Candlelight Faces, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 80" x 60"

Color in Darkness, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

Color in Darkness, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

Light From Below, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 80" x 60"

Light From Below, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 80" x 60"

Dark Shift, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 26" x 30"

Dark Shift, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 26" x 30"

Light, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 52" x 48"

Light, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 52" x 48"

Finding, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

Finding, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

Descending, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 26" x 30"

Descending, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 26" x 30"

Dreams of the Surface, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 30" x 52"

Dreams of the Surface, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 30" x 52"

Working, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

Working, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, 24" x 30"

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Left panel

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Left panel

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Center Panel

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Center Panel

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Right Panel

In the Mines, Oil on Linen on Panel, 2009, Triptych (78" x 108"), Right Panel