paintings

animal series

These paintings are recent and are all inspired by significant meetings with animals. The more truly I live, the more deeply I dwell in the interconnectivity of our world. Our human desire to elevate ourselves above other species is becoming more and more nonsensical to me.

dream series

bhishma series

The Mahabharata is an Indian classic (a 45 hour, 35 minute audio telling), one of the epic myths that speaks to the heart and gut, as well as to the head. The death of Bhishma, noble warrior, is a key point in the tale. He lies raised from the earth, impaled on a bed of arrows, as if on an altar, still living. He chooses to live, by his own will, for a further 58 days, ceding his life on the shortest day of the year (sun return, Winter Solstice). His equally noble slayer Arjuna, causes a spring to well up from the ground to hold Bhishma’s unsupported head. The power of this story is deeply impressive; it speaks mythically to me of life, pain, endurance, nobility, and ulimtately of the painful beauty of living. Acceptance of death, and a ‘good’ death, are a key principle of living life keenly. When Bhishma died, a blessing of flowers fell from the heavens.