| At the time I made The Rematch of St George and the Dragon and Huitzilopochtli's Ride I had been changing directions in my painting. These were images that I had wanted to paint for a long time. They came out of dark backgrounds--literally, I toned my canvases down with prussian blue and raw umber--like coming out of the unconscious: the images emerged from the darkness inside my skull. I had tapped into the underground reservoir of archetypes, and the more I used Grimm's tales, myths, legends, and other folklore, the more it all seemed to fit together. Each painting would lead to the next, and the next, as if I were discovering something hidden inside, not only about me, butalso about life. This stream of thought has led me to other discoveries, and I have created a body of work that continues to grow and will remain unfinished--the possibilities are endless. The Lion Sleeps Tonight, while the Carter steals the Big Head, painted two years ago, is probably indicative of that. While we sleep, the dreams still keep going. When you wake up, it's time to paint again. |
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