PROPHETS #1
2022
48” x 60” x 1.5”
Mixed Media

A few years ago I took a photo of a bathroom door while driving through East Tennessee on my way from Arkansas to New York. East Tennessee has always been an interesting place to stop and freshen up while traveling. In fact, it wasn’t too far down the road from this location, I had stopped earlier and found myself in a Women’s Bible Study group who had just gotten out of church and filled every single stall around me. They were still talking passionately about the literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation and the End of Times, not knowing that a liberal tomboy lesbian was sitting smack dab in the middle of them. And by the conversation, they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I didn’t know if I should slowly pull my feet up and pretend to not be there or just walk out, wash my hands and move on. I was ready to get back on the road though, so I chose the latter. As I opened the stall door into the tiled sanctuary that smelled of Aqua Net, cheap liquid soap and lipstick, my southern niceties kicked in with a ‘Howdy, how are y’all’ and imagined myself being baptized in the bathroom sink next to the automated brown paper towel dispenser. All humor aside, I admired those women. They were very polite, were living their faith and convictions from the conversations I had been ‘privy’ to (see what I did there?) and were actually questioning some things, but East Tennessee has always been a unique place to stop.

I told that story because no language is without meaning. Societal interaction and hieroglyphics takes many different forms. When you share a little bit of yourself with others through communication, even in passing, you crack the door to the emotional vulnerabilities of your character and sometimes even allow a tiny peek into the windows of your soul.

Love, passion, anger, sadness, faith, wonder, hatred, happiness, these are all human emotions that in one way or another are documented in our everyday actions. Even through the spontaneous echoing of voices or scratching of paint in the privacy of a bathroom stall.

I found this door incredible and wanted to portray it in a painting. The gold leaf is some of the 24 karat gold that I have on hand for special projects. In fact, I have enjoyed creating this so much it is the first in my new ‘Prophets’ series. ‘Prophets’ #2, which I have already started on, is a sculpture.

Dm for price.