Oil on Panel

18″ x 24″

“How do you get your ideas?”

I am often been asked this question. The answer varies from painting to painting. Sometimes it’s something I read about, sometimes it’s based on an experience I had, sometimes it’s based on a night time dream, and sometimes it’s based on a waking dream. 

This latter is how “Rebirth” came about. I was staying at a hot springs resort in the Oregon forest named Breitenbush. I had stepped out of my cabin and not 3 yards away from me a young deer was placidly munching on some leaves. We looked at each other and some sort of understanding passed between us.

Suddenly, above the deer, a vulture roosted and called my attention to itself. Again, it felt as though some information was passed to me. The moment struck me in poetic clarity, where the symbols of Death and New Life were held in my immanent frame. It felt poignant to my personal struggles at the time, and I carried that vision with me until now, where I present it to the world.