Evensong

4” x 6” opened case

1995

oil on panel, velvet, brass, wood

This painting represents an interracial couple who, as angelic spirits, have been resurrected and ascended into heaven upon death.  It was one of four works enclosed inside “A Folly.”  I wrote a poem about this work, which follows.  “A rainbow phantasm, / Immanent, resplendent, / Mounts the sky’s chasm. / Two men misunderstood, / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // Their embrace erases / Shoulders and arms; / Black night and white star faces. / Holy men, misunderstood / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // In ambient awareness, one to the other, / Two have left us. / In life, they loved one another / Wholly.  Men misunderstood, / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens. // In their wake, our breath strains / With resounding farewells. / Their memory reigns. / Holy of Holies, two men, misunderstood / In an age of misunderstanding, / Have ascended to the heavens.”

Evensong

3” x 2 ½”

1995

wood, acrylic, gold leaf

The outside of the encasement enclosing “Evensong” is shown here.  I restore and paint these mid-nineteenth-century cases and hinge the top and bottom lids, which were originally decorated with identical, brown-toned, pressed-paper designs.

A picture of "A Folly" appears below, and viewers can click on it to read more about it and to enlarge it in the Exhibits/Installations section.