Dexter Dalwood

Taking into account what Dexter actually paints, this piece “Sharon Tate’s House” is part of a dark story, were she and four others were murdered by the infamous “Manson Family” cult.

But the thing about Dexter is that he doesn’t often paint the famous places he’s seen in their past history whether dark or different. He looks at the details of the furniture like in this piece, in which he keeps the 60’s look of the furniture alive with the white sofa with the American flag sitting silently draped over it, showing instantly the pieces country of origin and that perhaps there was a proud individual living here. Then accompanied by a single arm chair that is reminiscent of the art deco style that many homes had back then. 

A lot of attention is drawn to how this very royal place is depicted with its plain layout of little to no furniture in place were we feel there would grand gestures of wealth and extreme spending. The curtains also drawn across to hide from the outside world is also a message to me that this a family who want the same privacy as anyone else, and really shows another side of the segregation between high society and the working class also. Though I have found on the web a short statement into why he added in the small heater and it stated “the tight-fisted frugality of a ma’am too cheap to foot the gas bill is cheekily implied with the addition of an electric heater on the floor.”

But the colours in which Dexter uses are very bright, and also fight very well with the overall décor and feel of the room, but his strokes of paint are clean and neatly compacted within the jewelling lines of precision that he very much shows through all of his work.

A more darker piece, made in 1999, in Room 100 at New York’s Chelsea Hotel which is the infamous site of the violent death of Nancy Spungen, allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend Sid Vicious.

Taken away from the everyday view of life, Dexter trys to show his view of the place with very little detail and devoid of light. In a way he perhaps use his style of work to depict the feeling of how dirty and gritty this room once was that night, and perhaps its better that the room stays this way. I say that because to set everything back in its place to me wouldn’t make it okay at all…. The room itself has been tainted just like Dexter’s dark tones on his canvas when he made this piece.

Within this piece “Camp David” Dexter depicts his views upon the Presidential get away that lies in the mountains. Not related to a lot of the dark places that dexter has seen and then depicted through his paintings, more so an example of a very secretive retreat for the high up governing body of USA. Down the years his place had held some very important individuals during the cold war and such times. Though Dexter paints the architectural styles if the house with its Oak and dark wood to be quite contemporary and very stylish. With its many books for general reading when the inhabitants get bored it makes for a normal place, for people regardless of their standing within society. So for me Dexter paints this place a modern and stylish way that creates a neutral feel for all people and one that I very much can relate to.