Threshold” — A Monumental Scrape Painting That Greets Every Guest with Texture and Tone

Some paintings are made for walls. Others feel like they were meant to become part of the architecture itself.

That’s exactly how it feels with Threshold, a massive 10-foot-wide by 6-foot-tall scrape painting that now anchors the main lobby of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C., one of the largest health care-focused law firms in the country, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The piece is built from dozens of layers of neutral tones—soft greys, creams, and charcoal blacks—scraped and poured across canvas. Buried between layers of epoxy resin, delicate flashes of red and yellow emerge, like signals beneath the surface, hinting at tension and quiet energy just below the calm.

Framed in a sharp black box floating frame, the painting hangs with confidence and restraint, echoing the seriousness and thoughtfulness of the firm it was made for. But despite its quiet palette, Threshold isn’t shy.

It fills the space both physically and emotionally—serving as a focal point in the entryway where every client, employee, and guest encounters it first.

This isn’t Hall Render’s first painting of mine—in fact, they’ve collected 15 to 20 pieces over the years. But Threshold holds a special place. It’s the one I hear about the most.

Even today, I still get messages and comments from people who walk into the building and are struck by its presence. Some are curious about the method. Others simply want to know, “What’s underneath?” And that’s what I love about the scrape series—each layer holds a piece of the past. Paint gets scraped away, then poured again. Resin seals it in. What remains is both accidental and deliberate.

It’s rare to create a piece that feels truly integrated into a place—not just hung, but belonging. With Threshold, I think we got there.