Prayers for love dance upon the walls of Longbranch

Six vibrantly arranged depictions of the human body are set within the close-to-life-size arrangement of canvas. These realistic human bodies, called “Prayers for Love Dancing about God,” by local artist Mark Birdsall, are part of a new art exhibit at Longbranch Coffeehouse in Carbondale. This exhibit will run through Nov. 24.

The exhibit includes a large-scale watercolor and chalk paintings to show the use of the human figure in an exploration of the contrast between divine and worldly love.

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“Painting is in praise of love, God and existence. And this is how I feel about what I have been doing,” Birdsall said.

Names for each painting were not assigned because Birdsall believes the names work their way to him; otherwise, it is a struggle to find one.

“Although labels allow for a general distinction for each painting, each piece includes a recognition of love that transcends our personal dramas,” he said.

Each piece includes at least one human body. Man, woman or not so clear, the prayers for love steadily dance around in each body. The enthusiasm released through the colors and body expressions are a joyous dance. Colors range from white to yellows, oranges, fuschias, torquoise, navy blue and more. Their faces, however, remain flat and expressionless.

Although Birdsall has not had his artwork showcased at Longbranch in five years, this local artist is not new to the area. The work took about three to six months with the exception of one piece, which took longer.

The artwork includes a strong emphasis on feet. The muscles within the feet are intricately transcribed. The foot looks real with an emphasized arch shape.

The skin is painted white. Birdsall describes his intent as allowing the images to remain raw and allowing the color to be more prominent than anything else and the skin tones to represent human figures experiencing something.

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“I don’t like to carry things further than they need to be carried. If they are done, they are done,” Birdsall said.

Each of the paintings can be purchased through the coffeehouse.

“It is important to not assign meaning to painting,” Birdsall said. “The descriptive words will always be short of the mark. It is what it is.”

Reporter Jackie Keane can be reached at [email protected]