“The Spirit of a Dragon”
Seth McMahon | SOLD
2021, 24” x 36” Acrylic and Aerosol on Canvas
With a breath of fire and an electric touch, @sethmcmahon11 channeled “The Spirit of a Dragon” & manifested one of my favorite paintings to date for his @mad.house_art debut! I have admired Seth’s work since I first stumbled across it at @sonic_bloom_2013. I stayed tuned in to his creations while he lived in an artist community in Oakland called the WOOM. We officially met at @sonic_bloom_ 2015 when he volunteered at the artist check in.
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Consistently working LARGE surfaces with a truly unique style, this modern day master seemed unattainable, but makes a point of being accessible to many ranges. A piece from Seth caught my eye in 2016, & I had the courage to inquire & purchase the piece titled “Rapture”. To transport from CA to CO, he agreed to fly it out & attend another year of Bloom. Having the opportunity to spend quality time that week is something I’ll never forget! I have come to know him as an extremely down to earth, kind, relaxed, yet powerful & adventurous individual.
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“The Spirit of a Dragon” is an exemplary selection of his work, with a number of distinguished features that I can only attribute to a McMahon masterpiece:
•The palette is something of dreams; a full selection of the spectrum. Seth is a pigment wizard, somehow seamlessly transitioning between a wide range of colors, without it being too busy.
•Stylistically, it contains everything I like to see in his work: immaculate composition which incorporates arcs and swirling motion, an interesting subject matter, perplexing geometry, & hints of calligraphy + graffiti influence that teeter between sharp, refined shapes & loose, expressive strokes
•Some unexpected elements that I LOVE include the black light reactivity due to the orange and green paints (he chose for their vibrancy in daylight, but I decided to flick on the UV lamp), as well as a couple hidden letters that pay homage to his interest in calligraphy (the crimson rune on the left resembles a D, as well a second D on the right formed in blue.) The start of the piece had the warm colors falling into an endless void, but ended up forming a billowing fireball that leaps out at the viewer
