David Schmitt I Dwell in Possibility For Sale

About this work

David Schmitt's "I Dwell in Possibility" presents a luminous exploration of interior life rendered through his distinctive figurative approach. The canvas captures a solitary figure suspended in a moment of quiet contemplation, bathed in atmospheric washes of color that blur the boundaries between physical presence and psychological space. Schmitt employs his characteristic mixed media technique to build layers of texture and transparency, allowing glimpses of underlying marks to surface through the composition like half-remembered thoughts rising to consciousness. The work radiates a sense of expansive stillness, its title borrowed from Emily Dickinson suggesting an openness to what remains unwritten, unseen, yet deeply felt. The figure exists not as a fixed portrait but as a vessel for possibility itself—features softened, posture receptive, occupying a threshold between the tangible and the imagined. Schmitt's palette moves through muted earth tones punctuated by moments of unexpected luminosity, creating an environment that feels simultaneously intimate and boundless. Within Schmitt's broader practice, this piece exemplifies his ongoing investigation into the human form as a site of emotional resonance rather than mere representation. His figures consistently invite viewers into states of reverie, their ambiguity serving not as evasion but as invitation. The mixed media application adds a material poetry to the surface, where gestural brushwork meets deliberate restraint, embodying the tension between presence and absence that defines his most compelling work. This painting would make a significant addition to any collection seeking contemporary figuration that speaks to the interior landscapes of human experience.