the art of being alone

48″ x 36″

$2,800

I worked on this painting for many years, starting in 2010. I was never happy with the colors or the mood it was portraying. I kept working on it and putting away until I finally felt happy with the result.

The story is about a lonely older couple from an older generation. They are in bed, satisfied with life and the black panther is guiding them. They are happy.

Right below them is a woman sitting on a tiger. A skeleton holds a shovel, ready to dig the burial plot for the older couple. The woman comes from the younger generation, maybe their daughter, protects them.

A young man sits next to six lions and there is one more up above. Every lion represents his attempts at making her his domain, but she doesn’t notice him. Her concern is the old couple. He waits patiently while frustrated because he has their bed prepared where they, too, can grow old.

The horses represent freedom and they run off without any restraints. A lion confronts them and challenges them to stay back, embracing the traditional dreams of old age, while they (the man and the woman) might want to run into a future with the horses that is risky but free.