10/15/2024
My newest collectors were so kind to send me a photo of my painting "The Mariner" 36"X48" in it's new home. It's seldom I get the chance to see where they wind up, so a big thanks to them on many levels. With 4 subjects, a ship, multiple light sources and translucent effects, it was a real test of rendering skills. I was going for a somewhat retro vibe, in homage to mythology based artwork of past centuries.
One of the last works in my Sirens series, The Mariner is one of the more surreal compositions in the series. As the Sirens story is fictional, it gives me licence to render in a realistic fashion and still explore surreal aspects through the subject matter.
As with all the Sirens works it comes with it's own back label teaser regarding it's relationship to the story line.
The story point ...
A look back in time to the ancient Greek roots of Siren mythology according to Homer. But Homer's account of Sirens as femmes fatales was tailored to suit the story of The Odyssey and represents one of the mysterious supernatural threats that Odysseus and his crew would face during their epic journeys. Thanks to Homer, the siren has become synonymous with the dangerous temptation embodied by woman, a common theme in Christian art and culture, as witnessed with Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis (1:1-2:4).
For my coming Sirens book, I've taken a different interpretation of the siren myth to suit my purpose. In that cause I've designed this painting to have the viewer question the sirens' intent. We see the mariner, but is he alive or dead? We see the Sirens, but their role is ambiguous. Was the ill-fated mariner lured to his demise? Or are the sirens gathered to mourn, or even lend assistance? It's up to the viewer to write that story.
