One of my new pieces this year entitled “Catastrophe and the Cure” was unconsciously influenced by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan this year.

I was in the midst of doing a series of works inspired by the cycle of erosion by the elements of our planet. I find it fascinating that the thru out the history of man, our most ambitious and largest scale monuments can be destroyed and left to become dust in the wind.

But even through that process, these structures can tell the story of the men, woman and children, the tribes, the villages, the armies, the clans who have lived and died when these structures were built. Through this endless cycle of destruction and repair with newer materials such as stone, brick and cement, the textures build on themselves and become a testament to our stories of the human condition that accompany it. It embodies our joy, grief, life and death,our fall from grace and our attempt to reconcile and to create a new version of ourselves in order to leave a piece of our lives with future generations to come. I try to incorporate that in my paintings. The texture, the relief, the cracks, the broken and jagged edges.

These events in Japan found their way into my painting in the colors of blue and orange. The surging waters, seemingly with out any end in sight, swirling around the land and having it’s way with it. The red tones with orange signifying the colors of the land and the land of the rising sun; the bravery and warmth of the individuals who turned to help each other in the face of a radioactive nightmare looming in the shadows. This was the energy I was feeling. I had no intention of doing the piece this way but I do believe sometimes one becomes a conduit for the energy to make itself manifest somehow.

This piece is not a sad piece at all. It, in it’s own way, became another living testament to the human story I have tried to capture on canvas. This is a piece with strength and conviction. With heart and soul. It embodies the human story. And I’m proud of this art piece.