Over the past several years I have enjoyed drawing and painting the human figure. While studying a person to paint there is much to learn by going beneath the facial gesture and the muscle; a recognition that we derive our form from our skeleton. I find it intriguing that our skeletons can last over a million years buried in the earth; DNA life still within those bones. It is awe inspiring to me that long after an individual has relinquished his physicality to death, life and identity remain within. In 2011, I was fortunate enough to attend an exhibit of the skeletal remains of a large collection of mummies. There were many people walking amidst the glass cases of mummies, yet the rooms were noticeably silent. It felt like we were in a church or temple and there was mystery and reverence in the air. I have painted mummies and skeletons and am always intrigued that I feel life within their remains.
