Water Soluble Oil on Canvas
32” × 30”
I started this piece after reading a magazine article about a group of punks protesting racism. At the time, it felt like a simple, obvious stance—of course we should be against racism. But as I worked on the painting, the reactions I got inside were unsettling. One by one, people came to me, not to agree, but to explain why racism was necessary, even healthy—to protect “our own,” to justify exclusion. I was shocked. I thought maybe it was just the prison walls talking. Then George Floyd was murdered, and I saw the same darkness out there in the free world. What I thought would be a statement of unity became a trigger for division. This painting captures that fracture—the hope of movement met with the weight of resistance, the ache of realizing how far we still are from what should be basic truth: that a life should matter without debate.
** Please note: All canvas works are unstretched and without frame. Images are here so you can get an idea of painting size and possible ways to display in your home.
Water Soluble Oil on Canvas
32” × 30”
I started this piece after reading a magazine article about a group of punks protesting racism. At the time, it felt like a simple, obvious stance—of course we should be against racism. But as I worked on the painting, the reactions I got inside were unsettling. One by one, people came to me, not to agree, but to explain why racism was necessary, even healthy—to protect “our own,” to justify exclusion. I was shocked. I thought maybe it was just the prison walls talking. Then George Floyd was murdered, and I saw the same darkness out there in the free world. What I thought would be a statement of unity became a trigger for division. This painting captures that fracture—the hope of movement met with the weight of resistance, the ache of realizing how far we still are from what should be basic truth: that a life should matter without debate.
** Please note: All canvas works are unstretched and without frame. Images are here so you can get an idea of painting size and possible ways to display in your home.