Red Day by James Edward Scherbarth

Red takes over the room and leaves the other colors to squeeze in at the corners.

Red Day is an oil and cold wax painting on cradle board by James Edward Scherbarth (1949-2021), dated 2016 and signed, titled and dated 2016 en verso. Cold wax mixed with oil paint lets an artist build thick, matte layers that can be scraped back to reveal what lies beneath. A broad red field fills most of the panel, worn through in places to show darker undercoats. Blocks of olive brown, deep maroon, ochre and slate blue gather at the lower edges, their surfaces scratched and streaked. It is 9 inches wide and 12 high.

Whatever kind of day it was, it was not a quiet one.