L'egalite'

This image refers to a Boucher painting of Diana after the Hunt with a portrait of a French aristocrat who was also a "champion of the people". After the French Revolution, he renamed himself Phillipe l'Egalite'.

I love the idea of the deer-woman; there are stories from the Cherokees about men who didn't realize their wives were deer until they noticed their hooves peeking out from their skirts.

Portraits of the Enlightenment period often show sitters with attributes. These images often set up a dialogue between the objects the figures hold and the male and female aspects of the combined figure.

A friend called these images Postmodern bodice-rippers. The interaction of the male and female figures creates a third kind of being.

My father has taught me to be an avid bird-watcher. These small-scale paintings combine birds and human faces or places them inside the structure of pelvic bones.

This was the first image that added historical costuming to the human-animal chimera.

This image makes me think of an orphaned child, with the bones of her parents obscuring the view of the reclining female figure behind.

The image of the deer has haunted me for a long time; ten years ago I befriended two captive deer (or they befriended me) and something in that connection changed me fundamentally. 

This image was surprising; an image of the Virgin Mary unexpectedly morphed into an image of a leonine and masculine face. Horses, living and dead, seem to be emerging from its interior.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

The Virgin Mary has been a regular visitor to many of my images. She symbolizes an idealized compassion for all living things, and also acts as witness to our actions and intentions.

A few years ago I became interested in the OncoMouse, a genetically engineered mouse used in cancer research. I wasn't aware that there are hundreds of patented "creature creations", with more (and stranger) being engineered all the time. In spite of the human desire to alleviate our own suffering, we have certainly created tremendous suffering for other beings. At the same time, I became fascinated with the structures used to house these creatures, which look like smaller versions of the skyscrapers we build for ourselves. I also wanted to include images of gratitude and protection for these animals.

Warbler

Canary