Why I Painted This Picture I wanted to paint a night scene. I think painters who are successful are those who take a standard narrative and create their own world. Artists as auteurs—that their personal vision is more compelling than simply rendering a subject. Henri Rousseau was very much was one such visionary. He based much of his imagery on the idea of jungles and exotic scenes more than the actual places. Yet somehow because of the poetry of his compositions the paintings work. As an homage, I adapted his stylized flowers and birds. Where typically Rousseau would have a female nude reclining in some nocturnal abandon, I decided my dream would have a 19th-century male basking in the moonlight. The scene, much like Rousseau’s work, makes no rational narrative except that it makes perfect sense in the painting’s magical moment. Anytime you have a chance to paint the shimmer and glimmer of moonlight on skin and water you should by all means luxuriate in it. “He Dreamt of Rousseau in the Moonlight” 2019 acrylic on canvas 24x18” See it at Gallery Blue Door as part of the “Of Flowers & Flesh” show. https://www.gallerybluedoor.com #painting #gallery #gallerybluedoor #tedrandler #artforsale #baltimorepride #henrirousseau #instagay #lgbt #queerart #homoeroticartwork #malenude #lgbtarts https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3QGf4l3Y3/?utm_medium=tumblr