It is mid-winter; I am back in the studio after a pleasant holiday break in Quebec (St. Jovite/Mont Tremblant) with family. Gallery above: recent work includes a return to familiar themes, including divination (specifically the Tarot), convalescence, disability, and transgression, all glimpsed through a miasma of religious dysfunction.  Some of these are paintings from several months ago that I decided to re-work (the figure on the right in the Nine of Pentacles, for example). Note in particular the Magpie painting. The text in this painting is an admonition (in abbreviated Esperanto) from the woman to this notorious thief to “Leave the Keys.”

Above left: one of many current digital sketches for future paintings. This is one of a set based on themes such as Europa and the Bull, or perhaps Ariadne and the Minotaur. Right: a studio view with Seven of Cups on the easel. 

I continue to reflect on the idea of Transgression, and specifically the seemingly archaic “sin” of Blasphemy. For example: in today’s world what would “count” as blasphemy? I asked Chat-GPT for examples and the response seemed surprisingly tepid. “Saying something like ‘God Doesn’t Care About People.'” OK right . . . I think I can do better than that!   Above are two digital sketches on the theme of Blasphemy/Transgression. Left: Two Girls Breaking the Ten Commandments in a Rose Garden; Right: Two Figures Blaspheming on Their Way to a Masquerade Ball. 

Above are two additional sketches.

Summer 2024. I spent some time in May-June re-organizing my “gallery” pages, hence going over and taking a close look at paintings from the past few years. This one, for example, “Penitent Magdalene,”  a large (5 ft wide) oil painting from 2018.

After a bit of contemplation, though I felt good about the canvas over-all, I decided to re-work the face of the Magdalene figure (using some of the new creative tools I have acquired over the past couple of years). Work on this is currently in progress (detail at right). Similarly for 3 or 4 other paintings . . . see below.

I also decided, on a bit of a whim, to frame a painting from the early 70s: Self Portrait as Lapsed Sabbatarian (upper left). The hands-on work on the frame was therapeutic, and seeing the older painting with recent work (like Ball-Joint Doll Crucifix, lower left and right, from 2024) led to sketching and reflection. The theme of the painting is introspection and guilt, a subject which I continue to find inspirational (see Girls Breaking the Ten Commandments above). 

The Rainbow. This is another relatively large painting (h = 45 in.) from a few years earlier (2013) that I decided to re-work. Taking a closer look (after having the painting in a storage area of the studio for a few years) I was quite pleased with the painting over-all, but not entirely satisfied with the way I had handled the hair. Re-working this portion of the painting is currently in-progress. (Why is Jesus vomiting a rainbow?  Though I am not “locked in” to any particular interpretation, I would point out that I had been reading/thinking about experiences of “mystic revelation” induced by ayahuasca, DMT, and other such entheogens at the time. I recall one participant in an ayahuasca “trip” saying that in the initial phases she felt like she was vomiting light or rainbows.)