Divided Self

This series of magic lantern drawings that I made over the years was inspired by a technique many of us learned in kindergarten, playing with crayons and black paint. First drawing with colors, then covering with black and scratching through the surface to reveal the illumination beneath the darkness. This is a good metaphor for making art, for me, scratching below the surface, uncovering the luminous within the outer layers.

This magic lantern painting is made with oil paint on acid free rag board. 

This piece is about the divided self, and how we compartmentalize our body parts, our emotions, our sexual life, and our waking and dream life.