The actual subject of this painting is deliberately nebulous, so that the viewer must make his own interpretation of the piece. In the obvious traditional sense, it can be viewed as the Holy Spirit helping us to resist temptation, no matter how beautiful and seductive it might be. Some others might view it as a resistance of either organized religion, or religious thought altogether. Some might be visually drawn to the complexity of the snake, and some to the simplicity of the dove. I associate it with my desire to resist my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but my tendency to resist healing and lose myself in the complications and knots of my comforting disorder.

Symbolic imagery combining elements of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which burns with loving compassion and a desire to save humanity - the crucifixion and the wounds of Christ represented by the rubies and spear to the side , which imply the body of Christ - the defeat of Death, represented here by the Serpent impaled by the cross - and the Resurrection promised to all believers, represented here by the butterfly. There are secondary inferences such as the Nehushtan, which was the brazen serpent Moses raised on a staff for the healing from fiery serpents. Jesus referred to the Nehushtan when he told Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up (crucified) in the same way Moses lifted up the serpent on the staff.

Watercolor and Ink

21in x 36in

Watercolor and digital.  The original watercolor is 30in x 42in.

Pastel Pencils

Acrylic on canvas

Original 36in x 60in

Private Collection