Clay Wagstaff

Title of Painting: FORESHADOWED

Media Type: Oil on canvas

Dimensions of Painting: 84"x60"

Artist Statement: 

"No visible clouds in the sky or on the horizon--everything appears to be clear and bright. The group is in a deep shadow and they don't realize their real circumstances. The shadow is symbolic of the tragedy of the story – of course the story is not tragic in the eternal scheme of things. My assignment was "clear weather in Iowa". The prospects seem bright, no clouds on the horizon, they are headed towards Zion – they are gathering with the Saints. There is a short horizon, they can't see very far. The immediate task is at hand but they can't see very far into the future. The group is dwarfed by the large task. This is represented by the scale of the piece and the monumental sky. The shadow is symbolic of future darkness and gloom they must pass through. The figures are obscured and there are rolling hills – it is not a straight smooth path. The individual hills represent individual challenges – some great some small. The tracks lead somewhere out of sight over the horizon – this represents leading to Zion, leading to God, leading home. They are leaving a home and going towards a home. The figures are spread across the composition in different groups – these represent some that made the journey alive, others perished, and all were challenged. Color scheme wise, the further back in the composition the yellower the grass – deader – which is symbolic of the journey. The further they traveled the more difficult the journey became."

Artist Biography: 

Clay Wagstaff received an MA and MFA from California State University, and a BFA from Brigham Young University. Of his art, Wagstaff says, “I see the world in terms of a balance between cosmos and chaos. Painting for me is the process of continually seeking, and attempting to work out, that balance. Sometimes I intend for the trees in my paintings, and other elements, to be metaphoric representations.”