Experimenting with a masking technique. Also wanting to get ahead, in case I miss a day. This painting connects to the one for Day 36. I painted them together. They stand on their own as separate pieces, or can be hung together, side-by-side, or one on top of its inverted mate. I do plan on some triptychs (3 paintings on a theme, see Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthy Delights” or any number of Renaissance religious paintings in 3 parts, but displayed as a whole) …
I have long been fascinated by the stories we’ve told each other to explain why we’re here. Because Judaism and Christianity have been so pervasive in Western culture (especially the USA, where I've spent the majority of my life), I’ve been especially fascinated with them. Christianity in particular has adapted to the tastes of the populace wherever it goes.
My research has shown the early Christians were masters at marketing their product, borrowing and adapting multiple-gods ideas from pagan peoples and applying the idea of saints, to aid the conversion of the pantheists. The vilification of a horned god to personify the Hebrew concept of Satan (viewed by Judaism as our own "Evil Inclination (Yetzer Hara)" -- the urges within us which hinder our better selves) http://www.beingjewish.com/basics/satan.html . Borrowing from the Jews, Christian Missionaries of the Middle Ages took the idea of the evil that resides inside each of us (Satan) and embodied it with the image of a horned Pagan god to make the non-Christian religions seem wrong.
In any case, the horned, red-faced Satan and the image of a bearded Caucasian God (Zeus? Jupiter?) make fine iconic shorthand for our cartoons.
So ... Fire and ice. Good and evil. Heaven and Hell. Pan and Zeus. Odin and Loki. Yin and Yang. Take your pick. You'll be right.
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