Growth 4

Growth 4
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual

In Growth 4, my character receives the news, or maybe the news is just sinking in. It is entirely surreal, being told you have cancer, like something from a soap opera or B movie. I suppose some people break down into hysterics or cry for six months, or sink into depression. This character is just the one inside, the little child having a fit, while the outer me remains (fairly) stoic.


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Growth 3

Growth 3
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual

Growth 3 has more to do with the brain, the exponential growth of both normal and alien tissue, and the eventual return to normalcy.

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Growth 2

Growth 2
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual

When I first was diagnosed with cancer, the whole idea of something alien growing inside me was disconcerting. I tried to imagine this new growth, the antithesis of positive development and change. In my sketches, I have been searching for a pattern to define it. Growth 1 is closer to the appearance of real cancer cells, but in this sketch I am imagining the vectors and entanglements of the changed cells.


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Growth 1

Growth 1
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual

Growth is one of those double-edged words I like, both positive and negative. In one sense, it represents change and development. We leave behind the branching structure of our lives, and are pushed along on the growing edges of it. In another sense, growth means a tumour or malignancy. Sometimes such a growth is simply a flaw in us, sometimes a cancer. Sometimes it can be covered up, rendered benign, or removed. But there is always the chance it will return.

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A378 Missing III (wolf)

A378 Missing III (wolf)
8x10" acrylic on board
$60

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page fourteen

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