A lot of my paintings integrate symbols from mythology, art history, or religious texts, utilizing themes and archetypes as metaphors to explore personal narratives. I was thinking about wrestlers a lot earlier this year- the confrontation, eroticism, the thin line between intimacy and violence. As metaphor for grappling with internal conflict. Recently I’ve been thinking about the story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel- the identity of who can be interpreted in a variety of ways- as dream figure, as prophetic vision, as literal experience. Questioning what experiences are “real”, and how, or if, that differs at all from perceived experience.

This original oil painting is on 16” x 12” Arches Oil paper and has a 7/8” white border surrounding the painting.