"Second Nature" and "Rebis" series
In these large scale narrative figure paintings set in invented landscapes, I have sought a dynamic rather than formulaic balance between the ideal and the real. The narratives are drawn from multiple myths, but the figures are portraits of specific individuals who are well known to me rather than idealized types. This has given the narratives an added "charge" and has served to ground the subject matter in the here and now.
In exploring multiple influences, my paintings have become more complex both in composition and in narrative structure with ideas drawn from sources as diverse as Greek, Roman and Etruscan mythology, Christian iconography, and Jewish mysticism. Most recently, I have included references to alchemical charts and to "rebis" figures, androgynous beings who symbolize the perfect union between divine polarities. My intent is to move beyond a specific story line into new realms of meaning.