“Pathstone” Architectural Abstract Mixed-Media Painting on Canvas by Louis Shields, 2018

A contemplative work from Louis Shields’ Element Series (2018), “Pathstone” is an abstracted architectural composition layered in a cool, dreamlike palette of pale gray, weathered white, and rich cerulean blue. The surface is built up with textured washes and linear fragments that evoke ancient cities, cathedral ruins, or faded maps, part memory, part imagined landscape.

Rendered in mixed media on canvas, the piece plays with spatial depth and erosion, revealing what feels like blueprints buried beneath time. The layered pigments, cracks, and gestural markings convey both structure and impermanence, making “Pathstone” a poetic meditation on the passing of civilizations and the endurance of form.

Element Series, 2018
Mixed-media on canvas
40″ High x 30″ Wide
Colors: Cerulean blue, soft gray, off-white