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Ride On (The Magnificent Seven) - Original

Mark Davies British Artist

  • On the surface all seems right and genuine yet look a little closer, delve a little deeper and you’ll see that things really are far from as they should be, as they so easily could be if a mans’ ego could be suppressed and managed. For a good while now Steve McQueen had enjoyed the lime light, been labelled the main man and with the bright lights and hype people flocked to see him at every release. The trouble is that if you are continually told you are the star then the chances of you believing that you are what is written are high and if there is a weakness or flaw in your character then your demon is born and left unmanaged will continue to grow behind you and you ultimately become the victim of your own success and the controller of your own downfall.

    Rather than focus on his own craft, McQueen started to become distracted and display signs of petulance against his compatriot Yul Brynner with whom he possibly viewed as a threat, fearing that there was a new sheriff in town effectively and rather than play to one anothers’ strengths for the greater good and benefit of all involved McQueen instead chose to battle for control against someone who was simply there to display his talent with a genuine motivation to see it brought into peoples front rooms. McQueen had clearly lost his head and lost his focus, the battle resided purely in his head but continued to make diva demands that started to fall on def ears of those who had originally pandered to every command in the fear of losing their main man whom they had built up to fill their coffers. Yet in complete contrast Brynner whom many looked at as the understudy just got on with his job that he was paid to do and shone and when quizzed about rumours of a rift simply replied "I never feud with actors. I feud with studios.” In this story the winds of change blow strongly, the monotony of the tumbleweed keeps rolling through before all that remains is dust, ultimately you decide who is the last man standing.

    My take on John Sturges’ iconic film is one that is authentic and nostalgic, littered with detail and references to the 'Wild West’ period where the battle between good and bad play out in many ways. Subtle references exist that highlight the unrest between the two men, dark forces are again at work here, yet as ever there exists hope. I wanted to add a different detail to this piece and one that I haven’t introduced to date, as mentioned in my opening paragraph if you look a little more closely the eagle-eyed audience may just spot a few clangers within the scene, deliberately included to embrace the love of finding glaring director-made errors. As a result of the petulance outlined earlier those in charge of bringing a relatively large number of individuals together, each with their own characters and style and getting them to work as a team became distracted and complacency crept in and smaller details were overlooked. I won’t point out what those are but they are clearly there if you look closely.

    The devil really is in the detail, ride on!
    1. Released: 2017
    2. Collection: Lost In Hollywood
    3. Specification: 1 of 1 original framed embellished canvas, hand signed by artist.
    4. Image Size: 48” x 36"
    5. Framed Size: 54” x 41"

Category: spo-default, spo-disabled

Type: Original Artwork

Commissions

When workload allows Mark embraces client commissions and has enjoyed amazing success to date. If you have been inspired by the work that you have seen and have a specific idea or simply a seed then please do get in touch.

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