I painted The Still Ascent with a knife, using oil on Masonite in the Miniature format I often return to when stepping away from larger, more demanding works. What begins as a distraction often becomes something far more intentional where intuition takes over and meaning reveals itself through form and texture. Layered in cold, muted blues and whites the suggestion of a mountain rising from a sea of atmosphere is both literal and abstract, grounded and otherworldly. The ascent here is one of conquest of stillness, an inward climb, quiet and unresolved. The texture carries the rhythm of the knife, each stroke evidence of motion paused in time. This tactile surface invites contemplation, a haptic reading as much as a visual one. Though small, this work speaks to something vast: how we move toward clarity not always through action, but through presence. The miniature format reinforces this paradox—a compact frame holding expansive emotion. My family name, Venafro, sits quietly behind many of these works, threading them into a lineage of identity and quiet persistence. The Still Ascent is part of a broader series of over 330 such pieces created over 15 years—a personal topography where texture, mood, and memory converge.

Title: The Still Ascent

Description: Oil on Masonite, 9 in. x 3 in.

Price: $295.00


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