This multiple figure composition takes place on a field of gold leaf embellished with punch work. The figures on the ground take part in the performance of the mercy. A powerful and compassionate figure bestows favor on one who is undeserving, while a host of witnesses observe from above.

From the Catholic tradition of Mary suckling the Christ child, this painting interweaves the nursing mother with the attributes of fecund Artemis of Ephesus who is characterized by an entire torso of breasts. The verdaccio (traditional green undertone used for) the Virgin’s complexion, displays the loss of carnation in her cheek under her burden. This metaphor serves those that have sacrificed their physical health to support their progeny. Strangely, those women who own or operate galleries have a particular affinity for this work.

This portrait is in the style of the Madonna and Child. The mother figure has a complex mask comprised of multiple faces. In her arms, is a demon child. The idea that inspired this painting is the role that a mother or care giver takes on by mirroring a child’s behavior or changing identities to better serve as mentor for their charge. The child in the case is a demon, presumably an innocent because of his age although the stakes are stacked against his potential to be good. The mother has a demon face among her options and it is this one she would wear to be more alike to her child… this is not all she is. This image was used for the cover art of Text:UR, The Book Of Masks.

In the collection of Jon Bienart, Australia.

This is an interpretation of the Egyptian goddess Ammut. She was never worshiped yet she is good and powerful. Ammut sits at the scales of the Annubis and waits while the heart of the recently deceased is being weighed for purity. If the heart is unworthy, she gets to eat it. Ammut is comprised of the deadliest animals on the Nile, the hippo, the lion, and the alligator. She is a powerful female goddess yet she was never worshipped. I decided she really would appreciate a pink dress.

In the tradition of the “Madonna Dolorosa,” this painting is a self-portrait and that plays off Christian symbolism to speak about the pain of love and loss. Have not nearly all of us felt as though we “may die” for the pain for loosing a love?

In the collection of Billy Shire

Set in a field of night flowers, a beautiful woman headed snake has congregated her devotees. This painting explores why women have been historically spliced with serpents in pictorial representations of the story of Adam and Eve. In this myth, Evil is represented as the serpent or “Satan.” This story has originated or reinforced some cultural ideas including the doctrine of original sin and the subordination of women in many Christian denominations. Influenced by the writing of Elaine Pagels, I prefer the idea that the tree of knowledge gave humans free as they ate from the apple. In this scenario, the serpent represents the bringer wisdom as reinforced by pre-Christian mythology. I chose to build on this myth and create a world where more female-serpents will spread enlightenment and free will to more humans who are otherwise blissfully unaware that they are ignorant.

In this self-portrait, I am reading a letter from Victoria Lucas. The demons are laughing at the self-pity, the self-indulgence, and the desire to end it all. In the spirit of Screwtape Letters, they are joyous in their victory.

Cheek to cheek, these two lovers are intertwined sitting in a lake of lotuses while the top of their heads explode in a Pop Art inspired crowns of thorns. This painting illustrates the sensation of being in love so violently that ones mind is blown thus leaving them blind. The etymology of the word passion is from a Latin route pati meaning, “to suffer, to endure.”

In the collection of Billy Shire

The Title for this piece came to me while my car was stopped at a red light. I had just had the worst succession of days that had turned into a couple of devastating years. I was pissed at life and fuming. “Is life terribly, irreparably flawed?” I thought. “Are we all totally fucked?” Through my tears, I saw a U-HAUL STORAGE sign illuminated but the “O” light was burned out. What is spelled was ST_RAGE and thus I had my title for the spirit of entity that I thought had taken possession of me.

From the neck up, a toothy, baboon mouth yowls from a spiky head of scales. From the neck down, a regal dress of red and black set against an atomic explosion. In my recent exhibit, Virtues and Vices, I suggest that there are some deities that exist because we feed them our energy. I hardly know anyone who doesn’t suffer from Rage. We show our devotion every day with our ranting, fuming, and honking. My thought is that anyone who owns this painting never has to rage again, because this icon will do it for them 24/7.

The idea of the hell’s mouth has been portrayed since medieval times. I liked this idea of giving Disney-esque colors to this landscape and the two women who hold the jaws of the gateway to hell. The hell’s mouth is usually shown in the corner of a page with demons pouring forth; here the mouth was doubled to form a vagina dentata. Inside are a multitude of shadowy demons with protruding eyes.