Paradise

2006-2009

Pictures of tropical and sub-tropical nature. I began in Italy, where I painted for two weeks in August. Beyond the window of the studio I?d borrowed, tall prickly-pears rose up, below them were vineyards, with the sea below that. All that was juicy, green, full of life, small animals, insects, reptiles and birds. Sights, smells, sounds, tastes, touches. Like when you come out from the cellar. You live in the present, you don?t think, you just perceive. And you feel very grateful for the fact that you?re here. The other pictures are from Guatemala. The feeling of being captivated by the beauty and power of nature merely becomes gradually more intense. The even greener jungles and scents like in a perfumery. This is what I was thinking of as I painted. And of the feeling of mystery. Mystery behind every corner, leaf or hill, and then the great mystery of it all ? how it relates, how it functions, how it lives. The mystery of fairytales. A huge mysterious country, amazing natural wonders, an incomprehensible world and our animal existence within it. As if the beauty of nature and her mysteriousness were to emphasize and excite our animal nature even more ? with its delights and smallness. As if the feelings of the metaphysical and the sensual strengthened each other, in perfect harmony. We will only be here for a short time, we will barely manage to scratch the surface.