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Description
This is another piece that was done from a photograph modeled by the framer's (not the farmer's) daughter. In the original, which was shot in very high contrast (mostly shadow actually) the figure was wrapped in ropes and her eyes were downcast. When I went to adapt this piece to my artistic whims, the first thing I noticed was that the downcast eyes--which worked in the photograph--would do nothing for a painting. And those ropes just wanted to be snakes...

Then I thought I was going to paint the woman like an Emerald Tree Boa, having stolen the color from the real snakes...only then I saw a Brazilian Rainbow Boa and all bets were off.

The working title for this was "Put Me In The Zoo" because when I blocked in her spots she looked like the spotted creature in the Dr. Seuss book. However, the opinion was that this was too serious a piece to have such a frivolous name. "Double Helix" was suggested: spiritually snakes are, among other things, associated with transformation. I balked at this title because while there's the suggestion of the helix, you just couldn't see it all the way through, and I though people would be totally thrown off by the title.

"Ophiolite" is, however, more than a nice name. The term "ophidian" refers to snakes, but there is a geological joke as well: there are structures known as ophiolite sequences (because of the way they "snake" in structure.) I grew up on one, but because we're on the East Coast of the USA, ours is "not well understood."

This painting is 18 X 24" on cold press watercolor paper, mostly gouache with hints of iridescent pigment. I apologize for the colors being slightly off: I will make adjustments when it has been shot professionally by my man Jan.

Description
This is another piece that was done from a photograph modeled by the framer's (not the farmer's) daughter. In the original, which was shot in very high contrast (mostly shadow actually) the figure was wrapped in ropes and her eyes were downcast. When I went to adapt this piece to my artistic whims, the first thing I noticed was that the downcast eyes--which worked in the photograph--would do nothing for a painting. And those ropes just wanted to be snakes...

Then I thought I was going to paint the woman like an Emerald Tree Boa, having stolen the color from the real snakes...only then I saw a Brazilian Rainbow Boa and all bets were off.

The working title for this was "Put Me In The Zoo" because when I blocked in her spots she looked like the spotted creature in the Dr. Seuss book. However, the opinion was that this was too serious a piece to have such a frivolous name. "Double Helix" was suggested: spiritually snakes are, among other things, associated with transformation. I balked at this title because while there's the suggestion of the helix, you just couldn't see it all the way through, and I though people would be totally thrown off by the title.

"Ophiolite" is, however, more than a nice name. The term "ophidian" refers to snakes, but there is a geological joke as well: there are structures known as ophiolite sequences (because of the way they "snake" in structure.) I grew up on one, but because we're on the East Coast of the USA, ours is "not well understood."

This painting is 18 X 24" on cold press watercolor paper, mostly gouache with hints of iridescent pigment. I apologize for the colors being slightly off: I will make adjustments when it has been shot professionally by my man Jan.