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24 K Gold-leaf lettering on the windows of Cardinal Provisions in Asbury Park. Grateful for the opportunity to grow my skills as a sign painter. Used gilder’s water based size and 24K Gold-leaf, One shot paint in dark green and Emerald. All materials obtained from Letterhead sign supply.
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The Double Truth of Joy & Suffering
44” x 44”
Oil paint, White Gold-leaf on Canvas
2021
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When we pray, when we contemplate, it is useful to bare in mind the structure of the double truth: of joy & suffering, of relative truth & absolute truth. In Christian terms we can understand this by considering the double truth of the joy of God & the suffering of Jesus. According to Buddhism, there are two kinds of truth, relative truth (worldly truth) and absolute truth (paramartha satya). Both truths exist simultaneously. In the world of relative truth we have imperfection, time, and suffering. In the world of absolute truth we have perfection, eternity, and joy.
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This painting has a companion piece:
The Double Truth of the Relative & Absolute
44” x 44”
Gold-leaf on Black matte Canvas
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Earth Star
38” x 38”
Monastery 22K gold leaf, 12 K white goldleaf, oil paint on canvas
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The shape of the center star is a stellated dodecahedron. The stellation of the dodecahedron turns each of the 12 faces of the dodecahedron into a pentagonal pyramid. The Earth Star is set in a cube within a cube. The cube within a cube is an allusion to the tesseract - the geometric shape that demonstrates the non linear time of the 4th dimension. In the tesseract the corners of the inner cube would attach to the corners of the outer cube and the motion is a self-engulfing undulation; the inner cube engulfs the outer, outer becomes inner, and so on. In the 4th dimension time is malleable and can be seen moving forward and backward, outward and inward, expanding and contracting. In the painting I chose not to attach the cubes by the corners because I thought it was more beautiful not to. In the non-linear time of the 4th dimension all moments are connected - as if time is a substance. May we shake the Earth with the awareness of our multidimensional existence and learn to be present with Understanding and Love.
This painting is for John Eustor’s sound healing studio, Sapphire, in Bradley Beach NJ.
A Future suspended between Air & air
38” x 38”
Monastery 22K gold-leaf, 12K white gold-leaf, oil paint on cotton canvas
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In Euclid’s elements the Octahedron is the geometric formation associated with the element of air. The octahedron is an 8 sided shape that looks like a diamond, or two pyramids sharing a base, pointing in opposite directions.
In this painting I used triakis octahedrons. In a triakis octahedron, each of the 8 sides get divided into 3, forming a mini pyramid shape on each face of the original geometry.
The use of capital-A Air and lower-case a air in the title is intended to cause a reflection on the distinction between physics and metaphysics. Capital-A Air is the eternal possibility of Air in the mind of the divine creator, while lower-case a air is the air that we are immersed in on a temporal physical level. The future is suspended in a field of potential that will be determined by the focus of our awareness. The gap between the perfect mode of Air and the flawed occupation in air is the field of potential in which the future remains suspended.
This painting was made for John Eustor’s sound healing studio, Sapphire, in Bradley Beach. John asked me to paint a portal. Grounding divine plasma energy in our 3d world.
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Here are the first nine studies finished of The Substance of Sight… This so far has been an inquiry into the potential and dynamics of the orb/halo composition, ranging from dark ominous energy to positive light energy. These all feel like energy transmitters to me.
The Substance of Sight (studies)
9” x 7” - Monastery gold leaf, white gold leaf, oil paint, acrylic paint on canvas - 2020
Metatron’s Cube
(Commissioned by Brandon Carter)
14” x 14” - Monastery 12K white goldleaf, 22K gold leaf, oil paint on canvas framed in gold - 2020
When I carried the painting outside it caught a wild beam of light:
Earlier this week I painted a mural in the abandoned space between the Casino and Carousel in Asbury Park, NJ. I was invited by Jenn Hampton (of Parlor Gallery and the Wooden Walls project) to paint a mural that will be one of a series of murals to be shown in the walk-through of the Casino on the boardwalk for the holiday season.
A unique and beautiful experience to paint in this very magical space. I wrote a short statement about the mural, titled Pigeon.
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Pigeon, 8’ x 8’
Silver-leaf & house-paint on wood
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Each of the five Platonic solids is associated with an element. The dodecahedron is associated with aether, the substance of the heavens.
This painting was inspired by the light that shone in through the broken & boarded windows of the abandoned ruins between the Carousel & Casino in Asbury Park.
At golden hour, the pigeons flew in and sat on the beams high in the air beneath the dome. They had the presence of watchers. There is a faint halo hovering in the transparent geometry; an Ode to the spirit.
The style of the painting borrows from aesthetic lessons learned from Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, Sol LeWitt.
The intention is to transmit positive energy. The silver-leaf responds to the different angles of sun during the varying hours of day & has extension into the dimension of Light.
A very special thank you to Jenn Hampton, the guardian of this space, and of the artistic spirit of Asbury Park.
The Substance of Sight
36” x 28, Monastery 12K White gold-leaf and oil paint on canvas
I’ve been working to unfold a series of works under the title “The Substance of Sight”. The Substance of Sight is a metaphysical concept, a mode of perception; everything that everything sees. In an effort to conceptualize this inspiration, I made a diagram to articulate the concept. This diagram shows how the Substance of Sight is in a tri-unitary form of existence, which is to say it enacts three modes simultaneously: To Be / To Give Light / To See. I still have a lot of exploring and discovery to do, so more works will be made from within this framework.
Metatron’s Cube
14” x 14”, Monastery 22K goldleaf, 12K white gold leaf, oil paint on canvas
Metatron’s Cube is a symbol that represents the journey of energy throughout the universe, and of balance within the universe. It contains every geometric form of all the Platonic Solids. The 13 circles represent the thirteen archangels. (Interestingly the human body also has 13 major joints, and there are 13 full moons in a year). Metatron is the archangel of Presence. Also known as the Angel of the Veil, and the “recording angel”, serving as celestial scribe. In certain texts Metatron is the name Enoch receives after his transformation into an Angel.
Chakra Paintings (for John Eustor)
14” x 14” Monastery goldleaf and acrylic paint on canvas
I made this series of paintings for John Eustor in exchange for vibrational Sound Healing sessions at John’s studio, Sapphire in Bradley Beach, NJ. John is a gifted healer and musician and has been a generous guide in the process of a spiritual awakening.
Working on a painting called “The Golden Bough”. The images here are of colored pencil on black gessoed canvas, but now its time to start painting in oils & go looking for the shade of Caravaggio in the underworld.
The title “The Golden Bough” is a reference to Virgil’s Aeneid. The Golden Bough is a branch from the sacred tree that allows safe passage through the underworld. Two doves sent by Venus guide Aeneas to the tree.
I recently finished a beautiful and meaningful painting commissioned by Laura Ehrhardt as a gift for her sister Deanna. The image is of the Golden Bridge in Vietnam. I’m very grateful for this opportunity. The painting is a reminder of the constant presence of a love that is always with you & that holds you up invisibly.
We linger between light & Light, suspended in air & Air
On Sunday, I hung work at the BWAC (Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition) for the show “Wide Open 11” juried by Paulina Pobocha of MoMa. The BWAC is a huge beautiful stone building from the civil-war era, overlooking the water in Red Hook.
There was a serendipitous moment while hanging The Armour of Light in the upstairs gallery. As I was photographing, the lights got turned out, and the natural glow of a nearby window illuminated the pyramids. Felt very magical.
In the main gallery downstairs Jupiter Square is hanging.
New painting hanging on the studio wall…
The Armour of Light - 60” x 60” - Monastery 22K Gold-leaf, Acrylic paint on Canvas
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When I was about to gold-leaf the very last pyramid of the painting, I flipped through the pages of the Monastery Gold-leaf booklet to find the last piece of gold-leaf. There were 25 pieces of gold-leaf, and 25 pyramids to gold-leaf. So the last pyramid was also the last piece of gold leaf. I flipped through the semi-transparent orange pages of the pink booklet and found the last piece of gold and on the very last piece of gold there was a tiny surprise waiting for me. This beautiful little shiny blue square. I thought it was the loveliest surprise in the world, and considered it a gift from the heavenly angels. Amen.
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Jupiter Square was accepted into the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition 2020 Juried Show, Wide Open 11, curated by Paulina Pobocha of MoMa…Jupiter Square appears in the video at 13:16…
New painting drying on the studio wall
Titled borrowed from a poem by Mary Oliver, from the collection House of Light
