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A Temporal Rescue
Part Two in the Four Seasons series I started over 5 years ago. Meant to invoke fairy tales, and to use their visual language to question the nature of traditional roles in modern relationships, without condemning the good intentions that led to these attitudes. Imbalanced commitment: the woman's role to be rescued and fixed, and the man's role to be infallibly masculine and rescue his partner from all of her problems are dynamics, as many people have realized in this modern age, are damaging to partnerships and personal identities.
This was a painting I put aside for years, among many of my other projects when my personal life became very difficult and taxing. "Winter" was originally painted during a time when I was questioning why I felt so inadequate in my first long term relationship. "Spring" was originally inspired by the new inspiration I found in Portland, OR (the waterfall here being loosely inspired by Latourell Falls, one of my favorite places in the world) and the promise of new purpose in someone else's life. The irony is I was entering my most damaging partnership yet, where my need to solve all of her problems led to me making some sacrifices I should have never made, primarily abandoning the time I spent creating new work. I'm very pleased to have finally finished it and will soon move on to the next chapter of the story, "Summer" in which I will explore those true consequences of this fairy tale rescue we see here in "Spring". Again, my aim is not to condemn women or men, only to question how powerful roles we feel forced to play damage well intentioned people and their ability to form a true partnership. Here in "Spring" a true tender moment is on display, a connection that is honest and pure, but will soon be melted away by the heat of summer.