As I transitioned to this body of oil paintings after the Firstlight series, I moved away from the smooth, atmospheric “glide” that characterized those earlier works, and began to let the paintings retain a roughness, an abruptness, in their color relationships.

Francis Bacon said, “I give champagne to my real friends, and real pain to my sham friends.” I loved that. He inspired Bacon Diptych. This pair has to do with the shadow—the shadow of personalities. These are shadows that turn and look at you from the painting. They are watching you. When a little piece of ancient sculpture or an old painting is looking directly at you, it was meant to meet your eye; you were watched by the gods, the daemon. Whereas this diptych is watching you without your knowledge. I didn’t seem comfortable painting it all on one canvas. I need the break between them. Maybe I see everything as separate entities that live together.

The white bars in Oil #3 on the side act as a framing device—it’s a portal opening onto a Tiepolo sky. The white bar that reappears in throughout this series is important. It’s part of being locked out of seeing the full picture. You get a tiny sliver, a taste. I often think that the suggestion of a full composition is more powerful than if you were allowed to get an unhindered view of it—I think that’s who we are as mammals, as creatures.

[written with Cedra, 2019]