Bat Man Painting

This work was inspired by a series of mini collages done during the Covid years. Recently I was in painter’s block and thought perhaps these collages might make interesting paintings, so I am currently making paintings from the collages. And to make them more interesting and pull them out of the 2D world just a bit, am embellishing the surfaces with bits of cloth and turquoise and coral on some of the pieces. The viewer should feel the Southwest, the various ancient cultures that permeate the land, the deeply held spiritual and religious beliefs of the many people inhabiting the area. The Magic. This gentleman is a potter around Santa Fe. I loved the juxtaposition of the man and bat and how each exist in harmony within this culture. He is surrounded by bits of cactus and sky, also important aspects of this area. Since I primarily work in oil paint and cold wax, it seemed the best medium to use. However in the past few years I have been dabbling in 3D papier mache figures and learning about fibre art, so am incorporating bits and pieces of that on to the flat surfaces on some pieces in this series. Having a rough, anonymous quality to the figures worked well with the cold wax.