Cupid and Psyche Print

A few years ago a student, Laura, working on a paper on art and mythology, emailed me some questions about this painting. One of the questions was "What changes did you make on the myth?" Here is my answer: "Well, it looks like the main change was to turn the young god into a horny old man. Also, I set the scene outdoors instead of in a dark room, I'm not sure why. (That's my backyard.) But I seem to have tapped into one aspect of the myth, Psyche's inability to see her secret lover - or rather Cupid's ability to stay invisible and out of trouble. "I suppose you could see this as an allegory about the soul/anima/psyche vs. eros and what a hard time they have hooking up. But this just seems to be the fantasy of the old guy, on the one hand frustrated that the girl, having gone to sleep reading, doesn't see him, and on the other hand afraid that she will, because once she sees him - even with his wings - the game is up! (That's my dog Tizzy, who sees me perfectly well and knows what I'm up to. Hush! you're going to wake her up!) "But wait! There's a whole other level here. The whole thing is apparently a fantasy dreamed by the guy in the background, sleeping under a tree, the very image of Cupid, except he has clothes and no wings. I remember that when I painted the butterflies, I was thinking not only of Psyche but of the Taoist philosopher Chuang-tzu, who was not sure whether he was Chuang-tzu who had dreamt he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang-tzu. In fact, now I'm thinking it was reading this story about Chuang-tzu that probably triggered the image, not Apuleius. Chuang-tzu's butterfly must have led me to the Greek butterfly, Psyche! "So maybe in this painting there is also the dichotomy of fantasy vs. reality, which are as hard to bring together as Eros and Psyche." PAINTINGS I use the materials and styles of the Old Masters to express images and ideas of the present, or timeless archetypes and myths set in our present day environments. But I have no formula or rules except to express the truth as I see it. Each of my paintings is a discovery, each with its own formula and rules. I never know what's coming next, I only hope it's something. The worst thing that can happen to a painter is to learn to paint. I approach each painting with fear and trembling, pretending it's my first and hoping it's not my last.

Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper

Size:12 W x 8 H x 0.1 D in

Size with Frame:17.25 W x 13.25 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.