Buona Pasqua

In the era of TMI's and cyber voyeurism I totally had to jump on the bandwagon. I have a lot to say, and usually too much, but at this moment I will try to restrain myself and keep this short and sweet.

Last August I was living in the town of my birth, San Luis Obispo, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_Obispo,_California

Long story as to why I wound up back there after many, many years of living in San Francisco and planning to move to Italy. Hello??? SLOtown??? (I will spare everyone from the long and languid description of my misery in the approximately one and a half year that I was there, at least for now) I met another artist who was a transplant form a different urban area. Through him I heard that there was going to be an "I Madonarri" festival in the Spanish Plaza next to the old Spanish Mission. I asked my new artist friend how he would feel about collaborating on a piece for this crazy chalk drawing event. My idea was to bring our two very different styles together, his being very Pop and mine of a more traditional nature. As I had been working with images of birds in my more recent work, I felt that incorporating some feathered creatures (hybrids) into traditional Madonna images was a strong concept. Well, my trip to Brooklyn to visit my beloved cousin and her man coincided with the "I Madonnari" event, so my new artist friend and I decided to create a painting together. This was my first experience in a long time painting in this style with acrylic, as I am an oil painter. My collab partner only uses acrylic so what could I do?

My ideas grew as my partner and I discussed the work. So many feelings and ideas were flowing through these pieces. Some related to my personal spiritual history as a Catholic, others to my relationship with painting and the history of painting. Botticelli has always been one of my strong inspirations. I admit that these were not my first delving into the world of hybridization of his paintings. I have also had a history with working with eggs and there is quite a bit of symbolism associated with them. Something about a raven has haunted me since childhood. I had a nightmare at a very young age and most likely it was associated with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell- Tale Heart". The bird reference in that story was to a vulture, but for some reason I had associated it with a Raven. Poe did write a poem entitled "The Raven", but I have always had a special talent for being discombobulated by things. As I have grown I have developed a huge fondness for Ravens and Crows. If possible I would love to have one as a pet. Free to do what they want, but they could be my friend.
~Birds have cross-culturally been a traditional symbol of the transference of souls and immortality. The egg is a universal symbol of life, even at times a symbol of the Holy Virgin. The Dove is a symbol of peace. The Dove is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit descending on Christ, as depicted in many artists works. The Dove/Christ baby is a complete hybrid of this concept. The Raven is symbolic of intelligence; often times depicting things we prefer not to hear. The animal physiognomies were not terribly difficult to create. The baby Jesus being cradled lovingly by the Virgin with the upraised hand signifying a blessing transferred easily into a cradled dove/human child. Ravens/saints/ the Holy Virgin surrounding and adoring the newborn Christ infant are a menacing image to some, but as in life we are all guided by our own personal interpretations and senses~ excerpt from my artist statement 2010~
Six months and three paintings later I no longer have a collaborative partner but I definitely learned a lot from the experience. I thoroughly enjoy working with other people and feel that this was an interesting period of growth artistically for me. As it is Easter weekend and the time to celebrate pagan fertility rituals this is the perfect time to present these paintings. Happy egg hunting everyone! Buona Pasqua tutte!!!