These two paintings beautifully embody the duality of life, inviting viewers to explore contrasting worlds. The first unfurls a primordial scene—a forest alive with ancient life, a stream singing its unhurried song, and a waterfall cascading like laughter. Here, in this sanctuary of tranquility, stands the majestic Irish elk, a titan of the ages, its antlers a crown of nobility, while the Auroch, great and lumbering, leads its kin down a path worn smooth by the passage of time toward the beckoning waters. Geese are busy pecking at a sunny patch of grass, soaking in the calm. If one gazes closely between the trees, a megalithic dolmen sits on a sunny hill well beyond, a silent monument to some long-forgotten deity.
The second canvas starkly contrasts this peace. The trees pull back to a wide, treeless grassland revealing a Neolithic settlement of thatched roundhouses and sheep penned. This shift introduces the human element, a catalyst for change that disrupts the established order. The presence of these humans evokes a sense of upheaval, as they manipulate their environment and usher in a new era. In the foreground, the lurking pack of wolves and a crouching lion add a palpable tension, suggesting a looming threat to the tranquility once portrayed.
Together, these paintings juxtapose epochs—one a cradle of serenity, the other a harbinger of chaos: from peace to violence, from lush forests to dry savannahs, from hunter-gatherers to farmers, moving from dark to light, living to extinct. They provoke a thoughtful reflection on the cycles of existence and the profound impact of change.
Framed in very narrow black aluminum floaters. Each of the two pieces measure 24" high x 36" wide including frames.
- Subject Matter: landscape, figurative impressionism
- Collections: Miscellanea