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| February, 1998: oil on canvas: 24" x 36" |
About seven years ago, a coworker discovered, quite by accident, that she had a very advanced case of breast cancer.Ê She died within a month and returned to India. Ê Shortly thereafter, I saw, in my mind, a scene with a boat, steered by a single man, carrying a tall statue.Ê I decided that the steersman was Charon, who takes souls across the River Styx, and is noted for his unforgiving and uncharitable nature. Ê I thought, well, perhaps he might permit himself a bit of emotion if no one was around to notice.Ê So, using my newly acquired painting skills, I finally set up this painting.
I probably was remembering Arnold Böcklinâs painting, "Isle of the Dead."Ê Except that I wanted to focus on the characters, not on the landscape. Ê The cloud cover that the boat is going under allowed me to show the distinction between the bright, warm land of the living, and the cold, dark land of the dead.Ê It also allowed me to play with the lighting.Ê The scene is lit by the cold, blue lantern in the prow of the boat, in contrast to the distant warmth of the sunlit land.
Last updated on Friday, December 21, 2001