In my previous series, The Head Pieces, I explored internal dialogues. The paintings in this series however, are looking outward at the world around me. Many were made as a reaction to hypocrisy or greed. Some question the limits of small indiscretions. When does, a fib, become a lie? At what point does being generous cross the line rendering one a fool?
I have always been drawn to the aesthetics of religious art so it seemed natural, when exploring these moral dilemmas, to make a compositional or symbolic nod to it. I constructed these pieces to refer to such icons. At this time, I replaced portraits with animals as my subjects. The animals are obviously anthropomorphized though they cannot be connected to a specific person or type of person. I must admit that I chose snakes, lizards, fish and birds for purely graphic reasons; scales and feathers. I am fascinated by patterns and love painting them.
The title piece of the series, Extraneous Objectives, refers to a conversation I had with my mother. Most of us are searching for a simple answer to life’s big questions; a cheat sheet of sorts, that will be applicable in a multitude of situations. The text from this piece reads: “Her mother told her that the purpose of life each day was to beat back the devil. She liked this approach it was simple; none of her own usual extraneous objectives or opt-out clauses. (refer to paragraph C in the occurrence of either A or B) It was in focus. She was efficient. She put the key in the ignition and stomped on the gas. She did NOT peel out, there was no smoke, no smell of burning rubber, no tire tracks. Which devil had the woman meant? The big obvious devil indulging in titanic acts of pointless cruel destruction? Or the other one…. sometimes in cahoots, sometimes invisible, sometimes wrong and sometimes…