Thomas Hazlett Jr

"Letters of Correspondence" belonging to A Series of Corners, is the latest addition to the series. This painting puts the viewers observation into question. A hidden subject theme and play on words is used, similar to "The Hat and The Hare." This painting consists of a vase of flowers, a swan, a balloon, and a mailbox with the word Art written on its side.

"The Persistence of Man" was originally started and finished in 2014, and later revisited in 2021. The painting shows a shelf, banana, the bust of a man, and a puddle. The idea of the painting, and what began the series, started after I came across a social media picture of a large ship that ran aground. One of the comments on the picture read "Is this real?" which after many hours thinking on lead me to ask the question "are we losing the ability to recognize reality?"

Still Life-Apple is the second addition to the Series of Corners after The Persistence of Man. Once The Persistence of Man was made, I started processing what it was that I had created, and determined that it was beyond me to immediately understand, and that careful consideration was needed when examining the painting. With much eagerness to proceed with the next painting in line in this new approach, Still Life-Apple was a way to take a step back after taking a large step forward of a whole new approach to painting, and calm the creative process down to the point that I could make sense of what it was I was after. Still Life-Apple consists of one apple with a slice cut off that sits away from the core, and both are positioned into a corner. Traditional features of still life paintings often show a wealth of exotic fruits, wines, and objects suggesting a person's position in society, but these details play no part in this still life. The Apple, being cut into two, shows movement and decision making of placement on the artists behalf, but above all it was the turning back to simplicity as being the purpose of the apple to better understand a new representational approach.

"Self-Portrait of a Lady in Waiting," belonging to "A Series of Corners," is a painting of a photograph that a woman took of herself. The woman is seated on the corner of two joining benches. Dressed in a bikini the woman shows herself as near nude, but yet she does not display herself in a sexual nature. My observation is that the woman appears in a "waiting" moment. The second half of the title "A Lady in Waiting," is a continuation of a play on words. A Lady in Waiting is often thought of as a Lady who attends royalty, but due to the solo presence of the woman, and her bent over posture, she waits for the one who will attend her. The photograph, being taken by the woman, is intriguing in that it is how she chose to represent herself. The boundaries of the painting (what you are able to see) are the same boundaries of the photograph, being that the woman chose to leave out half of her own head causing a gentle masking effect. The curtain on the right side is the only addition that was made to the picture. The curtain, often seen in full portrait style painting, reveals the Lady in Waiting

"The Hat and The Hare," belonging to A Series of Corners, contains a round table, a top hat, and a tortoise. There is a play on words relating to the title that sets the theme of the subject matter. The objects are set into a corner that contains indoor and outdoor features while having no specific detail as to where the location is set as the painting displays both indoor and outdoor features.