Half a lifetime ago, I died. I was only dead for a few minutes, but it seemed like forever. This painting shows my feeble attempt at describing what it was like. Rooted like a tree in a river that is also me, my hair connecting to the life force of the universe, my heart floating above my body, and everything turning to smoke and ash as I try and fail to put the experience into words.

I have an debilitating disorder called Trigeminal Neuralgia. It consists of excrutiating pain in my face that feels like someone drilling a hole into the side of my head as my skin disintigrates and my skull floats away from my body.

the ferryman over the river Styx reaches out his hand for his coin, payment to take you to the Hades

personification of darkness

the darkness that was me

the goddess of night spreads her cloak of darkness and stars

the god of dreams wakes up from his latest creation

I'm glad I didn't know the way that it would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could've missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance.

Terry Pratchett's "Death" from his Discworld series is fascinated by the living, mostly because he doesn't understand them completely. He has all the pieces but they're not quite right. Books with no titles and nothing written in them, cups of tea with no one to share with, frames with no pictures. Everything is ash in his mouth because he can't experience life, only imitate it.

Tintin's death indicates the moment when everything changes. Eric Draven has come back from the grave to avenge his fiancee's brutal murder. This is when the bad guys are given warning: death is coming for them. They are no longer in control, no longer in charge. The tables are turning and nothing will ever be the same again.

The Fountain is a story about a man who has lost his wife. He is taking her, in the form of the tree of life, to Shebalba, to be reabsorbed back into the ether of the universe. Life has come full circle to be reborn anew.

When Lara Croft meditates, she doesn't sit still. She does Bunjee Ballet! The hanged person indicates the need for a new perspective, taking a different view or seeing something from a fresh angle. Lara literally takes a different perspective as she gracefully moves through her castle.

The moment Neo realizes he can make things happen, he becomes the Magician. He is the bridge between the digital and analog just as the magician is the bridge between the spiritual and physical realms. He reaches out to stop the bullets, and says simply "No" as he remakes the world around him

The last episode of Charmed shows the sisters writing their histories from a place of peace, a time of settling down and setting down of responsibilities. They pass the torch to the next generation and happiily retire surrounded by family. 

The lovers are so much in love they don't see anything outside of themselves. Not even commen sense. They are completely absorbed in each other's gaze, living for the next touch, the next kiss, casting all else aside.

Alice, chasing the rabbit down the hole, doesn't have the slightest clue what kind of adventure she is in for. She is, however, curious and excited! She is the fool, starting out on her journey of self discovery.

paint nite

paint nite

paint nite

paint nite

paint nite

paint nite

smudge stick box