Dr. Eleanor McQuillen’s Crime Scene Painting The Four Snowmobilers of the Apocalypse?

While my mom would occasionally be called to investigate snowmobile accidents, this looks like an accident that happened near her home after she retired. The trees, the rolling hills, and the snowmobile paths evoke the scene outside her front door. The key clue, which may be harder for you to make out, is the H.F.D. on the ambulance. The H may stand for her Hardwick Fire Department.

This painting demonstrates an increasingly deft touch. Snow-covered hills, with all that white, can be difficult to convincingly render. She effectively mixes in a light blue-gray to bring out shadows and definition. The trees, both evergreen and deciduous, are some of the best she has painted. The muddy tracks from the dirt road to the crash site are a nice detail.

There are no black birds in this painting but check out the silhouetted snowmobilers in the background. These ominous, featureless figures hover above the accident scene like specters. When I see four ominous figures I can’t help but think of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Of course I am reading into this more than the artist probably intended. After all, these figures could just be a compositional device. Or are they? <insert ghoulish laughter here>

If you follow this blog you know I preach the importance of viewer interpretation. This is a good example of how a viewer’s active interpretation—especially when shared—can add layers of meaning to a work of art. <insert gratuitous ghoulish laughter here>

Next week’s crime scene painting shifts from winter to spring with Death In a Season of Rebirth.