"The Tempest"
Acrylics on skateboard
2015 - 2016
Available for sale

After 11 months and roughly 70 hours of work, this piece is finally complete. It was started at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, an artist retreat center in Wappinger Falls, New York. The skateboard painting workshop was taught by Chris Dyer, an accomplished visionary artist based out of Montreal, CA. The piece was completed at my studio in Worcester, MA, and will now be exhibited in several shows throughout the year.

The amount of planning, research, sketching, re-sketching, painting and re-painting that went into this piece was very extensive. From start to finish this project was met with heavy attention to detail. Its rare for me to paint a piece entirely in one medium, in this case acrylics. Usually my approach is mixed media, this was a challenge in the sense that it was more of a purist approach.

The Tempest has many hidden concepts and interpretations. The small boat, which glides along the river, symbolizes a person, the viewer, on their personal path of life. The hovering, intimidating skull, is an apparition, an illusion, representing the obstacles of fear, danger and death, that become present along the path. The crown of the skull, sitting tall and out of reach, stands for the pursuit of wealth, fame and power, a desire that is met with extreme risk. The castle, guarded by the crown, is a metaphor for the walls we build around ourselves, the boundaries between the establishment and the people, the fortress of solitude standing dark and lonely. A large storm is brewing above the castle, striking it with lighting, causing the appearance of this demon spirit to emerge. The spirit itself may be a source of dark magic, used to deceive the small traveling ship and lure it astray from its journey, into the abyss. Beyond the mouth of this demon, lies the sunrise, the dawning of new life, a reward for overcoming the menacing allure of The Tempest.