Tango Ten Series

Someone said, “I’d like to see how having a child will affect your art.”

That was an interesting concept for me to toy with. In my usual fashion, I stumbled across one aspect that this change brought in my life.

You are viewing a series called, “Tango Ten”. My goal was to explore an iconic representation of two chili peppers in ten different versions. I chose to stretch myself by keeping the representation simplistic—the more simple the image, the more complex and demanding the use of paint, brushstroke, and medium must to be to captivate the viewer.

Why chili peppers? Actually, they are not that different at all from my landscape paintings, which have been predominately about “subjects” in a drama. Some of the chili peppers in the Tango Ten Series are obviously anthropomorphic. Several paintings even begin to show a reference of environment. They are by far the most “figurative” work I have done in years.

To answer to the questions of how having a child will affect my art, I chose chili peppers to explore that question. I needed to explore an idyllic representation of romantic passion. I have been married to my sweetheart going on five years now and having a child has changed our dance. Because of the new time and energy commitment to raising a child, I have found it hard to stay connected to the relationships that mean the most to me: God, husband, family and friends. The idealist in me is fighting to have the same fire and passion as I previously did. The tango is a sensual and evocative dance and simple chili peppers are a great subject matter to speak to the exotic.

 And yes, . . . some like it hot!

All the paintings in this series were painted in 2003.