My intention with this series was to continue with self-portraiture, however, my focus has shifted from the past to the present. I feel that I am ready to move on to the REALLY scary subject of aging and mortality. In these eight paintings I have focused my initial compulsion to fight middle age kicking and screaming all the way, just as our society leads us to believe we should. As life’s realities start to drag you into the abyss it seems only natural to fight what is unknown and frightening.

I believe this series has been my way to start to come to terms with my own issues about aging. As these paintings progressed they became more abstracted and less focused on negative perceptions of physical changes in my body. I started to realize how silly it was to worry about such things. After all, if you consider the alternative, aging isn’t so bad.

The artist that influenced me the most with this work was John Coplans. Jean-Francois Chevreier writes of Coplans’ work of the late 1980’s: “Peopled by characters drawn from art and life and articulated by Coplans through the vivid language of his body, the work contains nothing to disillusion or dismay. Instead there is a kind of burlesque humor that moves its audience, or at least those willing to be moved, to the contemplations of greater truths and darker realms.” When I read this I felt that he was describing what I wanted to show in my work. I don’t want my paintings to shock or disgust in order to make my point. Instead, I like the idea of a burlesque humor gently inviting the audience to witness my journey.