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Nut and Geb

Nut and Geb

86"x25" acrylic on burlap panel. From the Egyptian creation myth the sky is Nut's body, arching from horizon to horizon. Geb is the Earth, lying beneath her. During the day, Nut and Geb are separated, but each evening Nut comes down to meet Geb and this causes darkness.

Medusa

Medusa

Medusa was a Priestess in the temple of Athena. Her beauty was unmatched. All men desired her but as a Maiden of Athena's Temple she was required to remaining chaste. Poseidon saw her on the shore and pursued her back to the Temple where he raped her. Athena was outraged! Not at Poseidon, but at Meddusa, for violating the Temple and turned her into a monster with wings and her hair she turned to snakes. Even then the victim was blamed. Here I try to return her dignity. 34"x60" acrylic on burlap

Helen

Helen

Acrylic on burlap panel 29" x 58". Helen combines text from the opening passage of the Iliad with the face of Helen of Troy. In Greek myth the abduction/elopement of Helen triggered the Trojan war. In the stories it is never clear if Helen seduced Paris or was abducted. Here her expression is ambiguous. Is her gaze accusational or seductive?

Odysseus and the Sirens

Odysseus and the Sirens

Acrylic on burlap panel 38"x76". In the Odyssey Odysseus has himself bound to the mast and the ears of his oarsmen plugged with wax so that he may hear the song of the Sirens and survive. The music is said to be so beautiful that it drives sailors mad and forces them to perish in the rocks. Here I combine female forms in rhythmic repetition with a male in the center overlaid with ancient Greek music notation.

Hypatia

Hypatia

Acrylic on burlap panel 42"x63". Hypatia was the last philosopher at the Library of Alexandria before it was burned by the Christians. She was violently murdered by the Christians, stripped naked and flayed to death with oyster shells. This image combines the colors of the mother of pearl in an oyster with a recumbent nude as well as the geometry of an astrolabe. Spherical geometry and the development of the astrolabe were said to be among her contributions.

Galileo

Galileo

Acrylic on burlap panel 34"x54". The concentric circles are a drawing of the Heliocentric solar system from the notebooks of astronomer Galileo Galilei. The text in the background, by contrast, is the recant that Galileo was forced to sign for Inquisition and Pope Urban VIII. In the middle ground is a stargazer.

Goddess Totem

Goddess Totem

Acrylic on burlap panel 22"x54". Throughout Europe archaeologists have found stone carved totem female figures dating to the Neolithic period. I have combined the features of a few of these with a female form.

Three Fates

Three Fates

Acrylic on burlap panels Clotho 19"x38", Lachesis 38"x38", Atropos 19"x38". In post Christian imagery the Three Fates are typically portrayed as eerie witches. As is the usual pattern, gods and goddesses of other faiths are routinely demonized. In the ancient images they are normally portrayed as simple women going about their work. Combined with layers of clothing patterns with colors inverted the mundane takes on a seemingly mystical nature as it evokes star charts.

Tensor

Tensor

Acrylic on burlap panel 24"x53". An irreverent homage to Albert Einstein combining a lingerie photo with equations from Einstein's notebooks.

Durer's Math

Durer's Math

Acrylic on burlap panel 23"x47". A tribute to Albrecht Durer. It features a geometric solution for finding a heptagon from Durer's notebooks combined with a woman's eyes that reminded me of Durer's Melancholia I.

Machine

Machine

Acrylic on burlap panel 40"x72". This is based on a photograph by my friend Brian Reily who is known for artistic photography of female bodybuilders. I layered the image with powerful machine gears to illustrate her strength.

Harpy

Harpy

Acrylic on burlap panel 27"x54". The harpy is a prime example of demonized prior religions. The Harpy is encountered as a female bird monster in regions where previously bird goddesses had been commonly worshiped.

Harmony

Harmony

Acrylic on burlap panel 24"x48". A female nude overlaid with the wave forms of notes on a scale. Behind her is ancient cuneiform text describing how to tune a lyre.

Rok Rune

Rok Rune

32"x48" Acrylics on burlap panel. A woman's face is superimposed with younger futhark from the runestone at Rok in Sweden. PRICE: SOLD

Chavah (Eve)

Chavah (Eve)

Acrylic on burlap panel. 16"x60". Chavah in the original Hebrew name of Eve. Here she is shown in her modesty. The dress pattern and floral overlay speak of Eve's shame and her need to cover her nudity. PRICE SOLD

Houdini

Houdini

Acrylic on burlap panel 48"x32". A tribute to the great Harry Houdini.

Gnomon

Gnomon

Acrylic on burlap panel 24" x 43". Gnomon is from the Greek, literally, "one that knows or examines". Gnomon is also a math term and the triangle illustrated is the gnomon of a golden ratio triangle.

Via Lactea (Milky Way)

Via Lactea (Milky Way)

24"x53" Acrylic on burlap panel. This image of the eyes of a gypsy wearing a veil is blended with a rendering of the Sun, Moon, and Milky way. The Milky way image is a detail from a Medieval illuminated manuscript.

Daphne

Daphne

24x43 acrylic on burlap panel. To escape the amorous advances of Apollo Gaia turned Daphne into a laurel tree. The myth is a remnant memory of the cult of Apollo taking over control of the Delphic priestess cult.

Transistor

Transistor

Acrylic on burlap panel 24"x30". An homage to bygone technology and the era of AM radio. PRICE: SOLD

Hera

Hera

Acrylic on burlap panel 30x30. The watchful eye of Hera painted with the colors of a peacock feather. The peacock was sacred to Hera. The geometric form is a means of determining the golden ratio with circles. Two sets of two circles on a common plain. The smaller circles have a diameter equal to the radius of the larger. The golden ratio is here denoted as XD:DC = 1:1.618.

Nimintabba

Nimintabba

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x36. The writing is a temple dedication in Sumerian Cuneiform (2094-2047 BCE) and reads from right to left: dNimin-tab-ba, nina-ni, Sul-gi, nits kalag-ga,lugal lugal ki-en-gi, ki-uri-ke, mu-na-du, that is,“(For the goddess) Nimintabba, his lady, Shulgi, mighty man, king of Ur, King of Sumer and Akkad, her house, built,” The eyes are a detail from a turn of the century photograph. Her combination of strength and vulnerability appealed to me. Price: SOLD

Voice

Voice

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x36 The image is rendered from a vintage photograph. It appealed to me because despite the stoic calm it was somehow still expressive.

Pegasus

Pegasus

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x48. Based on a WWII propaganda photograph of a woman contributing to the war effort. She is painting a star on the wing of a war plane. Layered over this image is Pegasus who was born of the blood of Medusa and flown by Bellerophon to battle the Chimera. The original vehicle for the warrior arriving at battle by air.

Robyn Hode

Robyn Hode

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x48. A re-imagining of the folklore character Robin Hood. The background is an oak leaf forest canopy blended with an urban canopy of skyscrapers. Price: SOLD

O Attic Shape

O Attic Shape

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x30 The word “Attic” here means “of Athens.” The title is quoted from “Ode on a Grecian Urn(1819) by English Romantic poet John Keats(1795-1821). The poem celebrates the beauty and truth to be found in the forms of Classical Greek works. Here I layer a diagrammatic drafting of a Greek Urn with a female nude and a floral wallpaper pattern. Price: SOLD

Theseus in the Labyrinth

Theseus in the Labyrinth

Acrylic on Burlap panel 36x46 I remember the first time I saw a pac-man video game. My first thought was that it was a digital envisioning of Theseus in the Maze of Minos battling the Minotaur. Bullfights are, of course, a vestigial remnant of the ceremonial observance of the defeating of the Minoan bull-god. The combination of the two was a natural pairing in my mind.

Manna Hatta

Manna Hatta

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x60 The word Manhattan derives from the indigenous Lenape tongue with the meaning “island of many hills.” This cityscape of a Manhattan street looking at the Empire State Building is juxtaposed with a vintage stylized wallpaper patterning of trees and hills. Sometimes when I walk the streets I try to remind myself how relatively recent it was that this place was untamed land.

Hands of the Exile

Hands of the Exile

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x30 The hands are rendered from the marvelous sculpture “O Desterrado / The Exile”by Spanish sculptor Antonio Soares dos Reis. The interlocked fingers are here overlaid with a geometric fabric pattern.

Amanita Muscaria

Amanita Muscaria

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x48 Based on a WWII propaganda photograph of a woman contributing to the war effort. She holds a massy wrench and is surrounded by large shell casings. The bombs seemed to be sprouting up around her so I layered a mushroom pattern into the image. Amanita Muscaria or is a psychoactive fungus used for entheogenic purposes. It was Ambrosia in Greece, Soma in India, and was consumed by the Norse to inspire the vitality of the berserker before battle.

The Migration

The Migration

Acrylic on burlap panels 18x72 Petroglyphs found in the American Plains are the basis of this work. Overlaid on a detail of a vintage fashion photo it is a clash of time and cultures. This issue is furthered by the addition of a quilted blanket pattern to remind us of the smallpox laden blankets used to infect the tribes.

Erysichthon

Erysichthon

Acrylic on burlap panel 24x36 Erysichthon of Thessaly is an apt metaphor for modern overconsumption. Erysichthon, which translates as “Earth-tearer” cut down the great oaks of Demeter’s sacred forest to build a banquet hall. As his punishment he was cursed with an unrelenting and insatiable hunger. The more he ate the hungrier he became. He sold all he owned for food, even selling his daughter into slavery, and then finally in shear desperation he consumed himself.

Barton Street Townhouses

Barton Street Townhouses

A set of four panels acrylic on burlap 10.5"x 18" each. A panoramic view of a set of row houses on Barton Street Hamilton Ontario. Their dilapidated state is defeated by a superimposed art deco design hailing back to more dignified days. The set makes up one image when hung side by side.

Penelope at the Loom

Penelope at the Loom

Acrylic on burlap panel 27x48 In Greek mythology Penelope was a symbol of loyalty and fidelity. Odysseus, her husband, was away for twenty years at war in Troy and lost at sea. Suitors demanded she remarry which she agreed to do once she finished weaving Laertes’ (Odysseus’ father) shroud. By day she wove and by night she undid her weaving. After my being away from painting for over twenty years Penelope seemed an apt subject for my first new work.

Telamon

Telamon

A portrait of photographer Michael Cooper as a stone telamon. This was painted as part of the CAPAC Double Vision 2015 Show. Price: SOLD

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The peacock feather represents the aesthetic movement lead by Wilde.

Jules Verne

Jules Verne

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The anchor and rocket represent the adventure and science fiction genres pioneered by Verne.

Mark Twain

Mark Twain

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The paddle wheel of a Mississippi river boat represents Twain's roots.

Edgar Alan Poe

Edgar Alan Poe

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The raven is shown in honor of Poe's most famous poem.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The streetlamp represents his vivid depiction of Victorian London. It has been said that the streets of London were his most compelling characters.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The hand with a skull is a reference to Hamlet.

Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The flower represents the Gothic romance novel.

Homer

Homer

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The lyre is in ode to the lyric poets of ancient Greece of which Homer is the most renowned.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The hands presenting fire is a reference to the subtitle of Frankenstein "The Modern Prometheus".

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll

10"x38" Acrylics on burlap panel. Part of my Ex Libris series of author portraits. The gold lines present the impression of the embossed spine of a book. The four suits of a deck of cards represent the card characters from Through the Looking Glass.

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