What Dreams Wither

Fresh off the easel today is this new still life, my first classical still life in years, actually--a commission for a dedicated collector of my artwork featuring items of personal significance to her.

"What Dreams Wither" oil on linen panel, 12 x 16 inches, 2025 (private collection)

It was great fun revisiting these techniques and some

dark vanitas subject matter, which was utilized heavily in my "Blood Rituals" series from 2016-20. I consider this painting to be the newest--albeit posthumous--addition to that series.

The prominent use of the color pink in this piece is symbolic of innocence, naivete, and femininity, the crumpled tissue paper evoking fragility and gifts unpacked, wrappings tossed aside. The softness of the peony and the sparkling tiara complete the feminine symbolism, which is contrasted by the masculine hardness of the dagger, knife, and marble slab upon which the scene has played out.

As with other pieces in the Blood Rituals series my focus is on the aftermath of events; quiet overlooked moments and the ephemera of some unknown human activity. These objects left behind and cluttered in a corner of a cabinet or hutch have a new importance as artifacts, telling the story of innocence lost, illusions pierced by hard truths, wisdom hard-earned through suffering, childhood dreams withered in the cold autumn of adulthood.

A subtle nod to Jung and the psychological archetypes is given in the upturned cranial cap, the blood the life force and animator of the self. We spill it and drink it in, and someday it will be all gone. The vanitas still life reminds us of this fleeting cycle, urging us not to lose ourselves in the decay of material pleasures and the flesh, and instead seek the ultimate truth of personal enlightenment.