4ft by 4ft latex and oil pastels paint on wood panel 

A surreal allegory of man's spiritual evolution

Christ figure with beautiful wings: a benevolent guide on life's journey 

Mother Mary figure: a benevolent guide on life's journey

The new student: a monkey's first day of school (The monkey represents both man and mankind.)

Our Earth (aka The Lesson). The earth is, also, a crystal ball of sorts ( a teaching tool) where the monkey can look and learn.

Christ figure Close up with radiating Aura and cross behind

Hooded Mother Mary Figure Close up with scepter of power 

The Hooded Ego: an obstacle to perfect then overcome in life's journey

The Grim Reaper: Death with his scythe lurks as a reminder that one's body will die and the soul will be judged after death. 

The Spirit Wolf: an animal spirit guide, which will help man hone his instincts, sharpen his senses, and lose his fear of the wild.

4ft by 4ft latex paint on wood panel

A surreal, figurative expressionist work depicting the problem of legal justice in America. Note how the flame like fingers reach out to ignite the church next.

Two haunted prison guards (one young, one old) doing their difficult daily job with diligence 

Three dead prisoners: victims of the fire that could not be saved

Prisoners trying to escape the blazing inferno that has almost fully engulfed the prison.

Chastised souls with bowed heads that cannot look directly at the burning prison

Note how the features and expressions are scratched out to emphasize the suffering and sorrow of their hard lives.

I used my fingers to search and scratch into the paint for faces like a divining rod looking for water.

The Pointed Finger of Judgement

Don't look away : A redeemed prisoner points to himself.

An emotionally distraught Redeemed Prisoner with a number on his neck and a red halo

A close up of prisoner 20053

A hero tries to save a fallen comrade by grabbing his hand. The sole hand that reaches out shows how he is literally all but lost.

4 ft by 4 ft latex paint on wood panel

A colorful Fauve-style painting based on a poem I wrote called "The Poet's Dream" honoring the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who penned the poem "First Fig", which lauds living life to the fullest or "burning the candle at both ends".

The exploding champagne bottle that flows like her words

Edna Millay spelled out in coins "dropping like nickels and dimes"

The candle that burns at both ends

Close up of Chakras that are fully open and radiating creative energy

The muse inspiring Edna St. Vincent Millay from outside

Shiva, Shakti, and Grumpy Cat

The haloed kitten representing Shakti: the divine female energy needed for creation

The haloed puppy representing Shiva: the divine male energy needed for creation

The Grumpy Cat that barely tolerates the festivities as he tries to sleep. Notice the lack of halo!

Two unwanted boys escape at night with Rotwelsch signs and symbols (zinken) to guide them to safety. The smaller boy holds an outstretched knife for protection. The older boy drags most of their meagre belongings. An apocalyptic abstract scene chases them.  

"Welsch" means incomprehensible, and "rot" is derived from the word beggar. The language is a mixture of Low German, Yiddish, Hebrew, Latin , and Czech with a high German substrate. It was used by beggars, outlaws, migrants, and those without papers. 

The many symbols provided a guide to the dangerous road. Some warned of peril, others pointed to safe houses, food, water, etc. 

Front Close Up 

Close Up

Middle Close Up 

End Close Up 

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

4 ft by 4 ft latex paint on wood panel 

A colorful child-like cautionary tale depicting a lurid ride on a suicide train—an homage to Poe, Hemingway, Woolf, Plath, and other poets and writers, who succumbed to the siren call of  Death. 

A giant raven accepts a small coin as fare for a ride on the train named: The Nevermore!

The ghost filled train with a frenzied conductor of Death with skeletal arms and fingers hanging out of the window

The ghost of Ernest Hemingway in front of the Suicide train-- a famous writer that killed himself with his own gun

A terrified young women goes first in boarding the Death train.

A frightened young man, who is second in line to board the suicide train, looks like he may be having second thoughts about boarding.

The ghost of Ernest Hemingway with two shotguns crossed at his side

A lost soul and a crawdad that lurks by. This poem is dedicated to her.

Lost Girl

The love in my heart glows like a burning coal;
It moves me forward slowly inch
by inch.

Nothing burns like the charred remains of a forgotten memory.
Why do we travel so much further for the other than for ourselves?

Why do we cannibalize ourselves
And find the meal wanting?
Why do we carry the weight
of the dead?

The hysterical laughter of the fallen never leaves my ears.
Every tear a testament to lost love.

Bottle caps and alcohol tell the invisible tale:
Where’s the girl, where’s the girl?
I’m so sorry I dragged your cold lifeless body
and expected a resurrection.
I cut myself in penance.

The grieving, bleeding, eviscerated fool,
I drag your heavy body and pray
for redemption
That never comes;
I anoint your dry mouth
with water
And eat the frost of nowhere.

Who will find me?
Broken staff, dried lips, lost wits
I have traveled so far outside myself
When I was here the whole time.

I crawl on all fours,
Begging mercy of myself.
But how do you hug eternity,
Wring salvation from dry veins,
Penance from frozen bones?

Regret and shame the only salve
For bad luck, lost hope, lost dreams.
I squeeze the limp hand of innocence and die alone.

A close up of Ernest Hemingway in ghoulish green and black with smatterings of red. The details have been scratched into the paint.

A woman with a lurid, red aura screams out in agony at the station

4 ft by 4 ft latex paint on canvas

Family Outing

A family enjoys the bucolic outdoors. The visceral figures are transparent and radiant with the same energy emanating from nature, reflecting the symbiotic relationship. The earth and humans are literally interdependent energy fields made up from the same chemicals that make up our universe (stars, planets, solar systems, etc.).

The loving parents

Father and Boy holding hands

Mom waving towards village

A child spins like a whirligig

4ft by 4ft latex paint on wood panel

An expressionist painting portraying a frenzied scene with three raucous, reveling hedonists cavorting in their own personal apocalyptic garden of Eden

In "Naked" we see much joy and celebration, but at the same time the slashed and distressed paint points to an inevitable disintegration built into both our bodies and the environment. Dust to Dust.  

A male reveler holds a female revelers hand

A male reveler gives a fist pump 

2ft by 2ft latex paint, oil pastels, and charcoal 

In Feeding Time the colorful, frenzied, erratic background reflects the cats super eyesight, hearing, and sensitivity to their environment. I’ve endeavored to show how they see the world, basing my deductions on their actions as well as what is known about their spidey senses. 

The slit eyed cat waits eagerly for her meal. Her fierce expression says she will fight for it. She will not let you pet her.

I call this one Winston Churchill. He's a tom that lives behind the closed factory. He will share his meal with a bigger racoon or fox. 

Mark Making Close up: Both cat and background are drawn with bold sweeping strokes of charcoal to capture the spirit and pace of their world

2 ft by 4 ft latex paint, oil pastels, and charcoal on wood panel

The abstract background in Monroe's Cats is yarn-like and webbed. In places it resembles a cuneiform like language, maybe kitty-speak! (In this project, I wrote the poem first, and was then inspired to create the painting.)
 

Masterpiece or Monroe’s Cat

Sweet calico cat
The size of a shoe
Curled comfortably
In the crook of
A chair

With the stark
White whiskers
And soft jade eyes 
of a sage
chinamen

The universe mirrored
In your perfect shape
Gods voice In your
Plaintive meow

So much wisdom
Love and patience
In the limpid pool
Of your soulful eyes

The neat curve
Of your tucked tail
The fine shivs
Of your sharp claws
The divine crackle
Of your charged coat

How you chastise me
With your fine
disposition,
Gleaming fur,
Fierce prowess

The elegant dignity
Of a Royal
A king with no crown
A worthy rival
To Mona Lisa’s
Famous smile

The mundane
mystery of a forgotten
masterpiece

Domestic Cat Close up: The younger cat is curious and playful. He loves the outdoors.

Domestic Cat Close up: The older cat is more sedentary and likes to stay indoors. He likes to rest on warm laps.

A sweet face and disposition with glowing green eyes and silky black coat

Domestic Cat Close up--A smaller, older cat with huge empathetic eyes, a sibylline disposition and a coat of many colors 

A detailed super close up: A tangled maze that reflects a cats complex personality and also yarn and string 

2 ft by 4 ft latex paint, oil pastels, and charcoal on wood panel

An abstract depiction of two lovers embracing

Close Up of Heads and Arms

Close Up of Torso and Upper Legs

Close Up of Lower Legs

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

Close Up

3ft by 5ft distressed black and white latex paint on wood frame

This gentleman slashed with a thousand cuts is a physical depiction

of the emotion, psychological, and spiritual stress and damage

inflicted on  poor men in our society, especially those of color on a daily basis.

His hands up express his exasperation and coerced surrender, but also

shows the world the lacerations and scars that have been inflicted on him.

His powerful body and large, strong hands make the injuries even more 

difficult to fathom. He is a modern day Christ figure, dying one day and cut at a time.

3ft by 5ft distressed black and white latex paint on wood frame

This lacerated woman depicts the abuse and damage inflicted on

poor woman, especially those of color in our society on a daily basis--

particularly from men. 

Her flowing tears and cracked skin echo both her pain and plight. She holds

innocent unborn twins protectively in her womb, cradling them in her arms. 

Her milk flows in tearful trickles. Her hair radiates out to distant stars

that illuminate the dense blackness with their pinpoints of light.

The first cut is also symbolic of the crushing pain of childbirth and bearing

and raising children often with little or no help.

As the creator and protector of life on this planet, she should

be cherished and venerated! She is the heart of the world,

which is why she appears both earth-like and celestial in 

this image.

Close up of Lacerated Face

Close up of the Gouged Features

Close up of the leaking breasts and full womb

Close up of Crying Face with closed eyes

Close up of fractured scarring on face

4 ft by 4 ft latex paint and Japanese markers on wood panel 

Cloe Up

22 inches by 30 inches latex paint on wood panel 

Close up

22 in by 30 in latex paint and oil markers on wood panel 

Jeffrey

The fractured and chaotic background in the formidable portrait of Jeffrey echoes his sharp personality and  the splintered state of his psyche, battered but strengthened by life challenges and hardships. 

2ft by 4 ft latex paint, oil pastels, and vine charcoal on wood panel 

A portrait of the hungry fox that eats the cat food at the Woodberry studio. Her pillar-like legs are planted firmly on his turf; her cunning brow furrowed and insistent on her right to partake at God’s table. 

Her direct stare and bristling fur, along with the super charged background that reflects her plight make for a formidable encounter.  (The poem came first! I decided to omit the babies to keep the focus on the formidable fox.)

Hunger

Foxy fox
Forages forth,
Hungry kits—
Noses north,

Keep tight to
Mother’s wing,
Keen for supper,
The only thing

To fill soft bellies
Fuel first feet
That skitter and scamper
Sometimes retreat.

Wed tight as glue
To mother’s shadow—
Midnight blue,
Russet coats

And eyes of coal
Ferret forth
On dewy paws,
Sniff and skitter

As daylight crawls.
Across the littered
Scarred landscape,
They marshal on
Til morning breaks.

Saint Jerome in his Study

Semi-distressed Frame

11 in by 14 in Oil on Canvas

A portrait of Vincent Van Gogh

Distressed yellow frame

14 in by 18 in oil on canvas

Figure Study 2

16 in by 20 in Charcoal on Paper

An expressive model thinking

Figure Study 3

16 in by 20 in Charcoal on paper

An athletic model posing with disk