Like yachtsmen attacking the waves, LeRoy Neiman attacks canvases with energetic strokes of vibrant, bold color. In
Orange Sky Sailing Neiman interprets the power and grace of ocean yacht racing. Under a dramatic sky of blazing orange and fiery red, two boats engage in oceanic competition, riding on the wind. With the leader off in the distance, the dominant vessel in the foreground trails. The wind fills its huge blue and green sail, straining its lines and pulling the yacht ever forward. The three-man crew, its attention firmly fixed on the target ahead, appears small amidst the elemental forces of wind and sea. Both watercraft lean hard with the wind, churning roughly through the sea and blowing salty white spray in their wake. In contrast to this tense scene, white seagulls lazily drift on thermals, while a distant white pleasure boat seems to stand perfectly still.
Every few years, Neiman explains, he likes to return to the sailing motif:
'Liquid paint, acrylic and enamels lend themselves to the tumult and drama of the open sea. It is like an exercise of freedom to allow the paint to reign.'
A master of color and composition, LeRoy Neiman gives his collectors an exciting addition to his nautical oeuvre, Orange Sky Sailing
