I do believe in the ability of artistic depictions to express truths beyond mere words. And art is fun and very therapeutic, too. I offer them here for your enjoyment and edification.
Click on the images for larger versions or on the captions below them for descriptive text.
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Prayer to St. Michael |
The Secret of the Rosy Cross |
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Wanted DEAD
Paper with colored film, 8 1/2" x 11", 1990
Way back during the First Iraqi Campaign, er, that is, the Gulf War, I did what I felt was my patriotic bit with this poster. It was not the first one I did – one I produced during the Iranian Hostage Crisis was even more inflammatory.
If the advice had been followed then, we wouldn't be in the mess over there we are today. Not that his recent execution really helps anything. Except that as a crude act of revenge, it showed that vengence should not be confused with justice. This is not something to be proud of, but another imperial mark of shame for the United States. Top
American Sophia
Acrylic on canvasboard, 9" x 12", 2001
Started as a preliminary test piece for Our Lady of Light, after September 11, I felt certain things needed to be added. Top
The Connoisseur
Acrylic on canvasboard , 16" x 20", 2002
Not so much sympathy for the Devil as having a little fun with Old Nick. The idea here is that even great evil sometimes covets the beauty it destroys. Top
Anasazi Voyager
Pecked image on red sandstone, approx. 9" x 5", 1990(?)
Back in the early 1990's, I was intensely interested in Rock Art of all kinds, even producing my own, some of which I sold through a gallery. This is one humorous piece that I kept; a rendering of the Voyager plaque as the ancient Anasazi might have imagined it. Top
Our Lady of Light
Acrylic on canvasboard, 12" x 24", 2001
After having looked uncomfortably deep into the darkness with my painting of Lilith, it seemed a good idea to balance it just a bit by celebrating its opposite with a simple, positive, traditional image. My first major piece in five years, I was inspired by the lovely statue of Our Lady of Light in the sanctuary of Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. That early 20th Century Italian painted-plaster near-life-size figure shows Her as a slender girl, but I deliberately made my version much more maternal than virginal, a mother fully capable of crushing the serpent’s head for the sake of Her children. Top
Lilith, Queen of Hell
Acrylic on canvasboard, 11" x 14", 1996
One of evil’s most ancient and seductive guises. The wings, feet and other elements of this image were taken from ancient Near Eastern depictions of Adam’s first wife and Satan’s queen. Top
The Church Triumphant
Acrylic on canvasboard , 16" x 20", 1996
The dark side of the Roman Catholic Church is revealed. This one I found quite therapeutic. ;-> Top
Prayer to St. Michael
Ink & watercolor on paper, 8 ½" x 11", 1995
I used to do quite a lot of calligraphy and illumination, including numerous award scrolls for the Society for Creative Anachronism. My arm has since given out but I did this just before it went. This prayer was taken from a scrap of paper found in my father's bullet-proof New Testament that he carried throughout the European Theater in World War II. This powerful invocation, supposedly based on a papal vision of future dangers, was authorized by the Roman Catholic bishop of Santa Fe for use by combat troops.
The Secret of the Rosy Cross
Acrylic on canvasboard , 16" x 20", 1984
This painting commemorates a mystical insight I was blessed with one Holy Thursday concerning the nature of the cosmic Tau symbol and some of its many guises.
Death Beckons
Ink on paper, 8" x 10", 1983
In a two-color form, this piece was used as cover art for the book Plague: An Ancient Disease in the Twentieth Century by Charles T. Gregg, UNM Press. Plague, also known as "the Black Death" is endemic in this part of the world, usually taking a few cats and residents or tourists each year. Say what you will about modern horrors, this is one to keep an eye on. Top
