Shadow

SHADOW (Diptych)
Medium: Oil on canvas + vintage collage on panel
Size: 22" × 28" (oil painting) + 8" × 10" (collage study)
Year: 2024
Series: "Find the Differences" (RAM Retrospective, 2026)
Status: Available
Investment: $7,500
 
The Story
This is the third piece in the series that began with ADRIFT—the body of work born from constraint, necessity, and 3,000 miles of American highways.
 
In our 1st month in Richmond, my wife an I we're fortunate enough to have an afternoon riding scooters through the campus grounds of Earlam College
 
This piece captures that memory.
 
The process remained the same: Create a collage study from found materials. Then paint a freehand interpretation—no projector, no sketch, no grid. Just observation, instinct, and oil paint.
 
This is piece #3.
 
The Work
 
SHADOW is a diptych—two pieces meant to be displayed together.
 
The collage study (8x10") uses re-arranged vintage magazine elements: an old Honda ad, bold B&W typography, an ice climber leaping for his life. Re-shaped visual architecture that calls to the subconscious.
 
The oil painting (22x28") is a freehand interpretation, scaled up nearly 3× through observation alone. No mechanical aids. Just eyes and brush.
 
The hidden layer: See the differences? In the original collage, the couple riding the scooter are different. In the painting, I've inserted my wife and I. A memory painted, framed by the phrase.
 
"Under the Shadow Factory Special"
 
Alluding to sacred Ever Present Now. For that is all we have, the rest becomes memories to thoughts of yesterday.
 
 
The Framework
Like all pieces in this series, SHADOW follows strict design principles:
 
The Law of Three: Three main compositional elements (riders, Shadow text, climber).
 
The Billboard-to-Library Strategy:
20-foot hook: Bold red typography, immediate visual impact
6-foot strike: Figures emerge, narrative takes shape
1-inch whisper: Fine brushwork reveals hidden details
 
The result: work that functions at multiple scales, rewarding both distant viewing and close examination.
 
The Series
 
Shadow is the third piece in a body of work anchoring my Richmond Art Museum retrospective (June 2026). As the series progresses, the paintings grow larger, the synchronicities deepen, and the hidden puzzles become more complex.
 
From here, it only expands.
 
Acquisition
 
Investment: $7,500 (both pieces included—diptych must remain together)
Payment plans available: 3-6 months, zero interest
Example: $1,250/month × 6 months
Shipping: Professional art logistics, fully insured (additional cost)
Certificate of authenticity: Included for both pieces
Custom framing upon request: (additional cost)
 
This is conceptual work rooted in nostalgia, transformation, and the refusal of "simple" things to fade away. It's 1970s Mexico reborn as contemporary fine art. It's the Hero's Journey applied to mass-produced magazines—rescued, reimagined, and destined for museum walls.
 
 
Inquiries: yes@justinkaneelder.com