“The object of ‘Angels’ was to marry the expressiveness of oil painting with the creative promise of digital-image editing. Between 2002 and 2009, what began with a few mixed-media experiments gradually evolved into a thematically unified project with about two-dozen canvasses--so far.
I selected Angels as a subject because of their artistic challenge and unique story-telling potential. As a visual artist, I find nothing is harder to capture, nor more satisfying to achieve, than a compelling representation of the feminine figure. As for story-telling, Angels--or at least Angel images--have been with us since the dawn of civilization. Their dual role as personal guardians and divine messengers has helped Angels maintain a powerful grip on the human imagination for at least 10,000 years--and perhaps much longer.
Mine, of course, are 21st-century Angels. Their overarching theme can be summed up in the description ‘Eco-angels.’ Many of these paintings were born out of frustration with our collective denial in the face of the incontrovertible evidence of a gathering global ecological and energy disaster. An example is “Arc Angel” (pun intended), a composition that aims to draw a visual parallel between the 'unsinkable' passenger-ship Titanic and our contemporary complacency about climate change. Today, we are all passengers aboard the Titanic.
As for the other Angels--the ‘non-eco’ ones--they reflect ideas that have exercised a grip on my imagination down the years including cultural diversity, surreal juxtaposition, and the way fashion stylings reflect the historical values and obsessions of an era. That’s the way it is with angels.”
