Thoughtful Tuesday - The Suicide

In January 2015, I promised myself to complete a body of work. The goal was five pieces, at least 30 x 40 inches, all united by a theme. The theme evolved to something I still want to work on, but this is the first in that body of work.

After years of hearing references and seeing images, I finally read Dante's Divine Comedy as a requirement in college. I remember sticking small post-it notes in my book not just for future papers, but future paintings. My professor also had book of Gustave Dore's prints illustrating the cantos that she let me borrow for a week. The one canto that struck me the most and still does is Canto XIII, the Woods of the Suicides. My imagery has always related in some ways to plant life, trees, etc. Last year, I finally felt the time had come for me to finally create my own suicide tree, and this is the final product.

Over a year later, I'm still very proud of this piece, but there's still an itching feeling to continue with the same imagery - maybe create an entire woods of suicides of my own, or other cantos. I have so many ideas, but I've become a slow creator working on my pieces. Hopefully, this blog keeps me motivated. This public motivation.

You can find the image and other pieces in the 2015-2016 gallery. There are few more from last year to upload, which will happen soon. It's possible I may revisit more of Dante's famous work again. For now, this is enough.

Next week, I'll promise myself to show images of what I'm currently working on, followed by another visit of last year's work.