Butterfly-Hands (One Strong Butterfly)

24" x 24", oil on panel

This form makes me think of the way you can use your hands to make a bird flying.

As always, words aren't going to cut it, but I'll say a few. The form is very sculptural, central in the picture, situated in space, while the forearms are like a pillar that can also be read as space. In that way, they do not compete with the form of the butterfly, which would serve to ground it. This butterfly is flying with vigor, all muscle, even though the black lines are so solid (like the lead around stained glass). I revisited the medieval stained glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC this weekend and there's something about them that seems as hard as nails. Image, form, and belief are inseparable. I would say there's also some of the raw toughness of Soutine's sides of beef in my picture.