In the Light, 2023

14" x 17" Watercolor on Paper; unframed.

An old man, weathered by the passage of time, emerges from the ethereal murk into a solitary pool of light. Naked vulnerability cloaked in the shroud of age, he leans on a gnarled walking stick, bearing the weight of his journey. Above him hovers a colossal crown, a malevolent creation of dark, thorny wood adorned with three grimacing tribal faces. This spectral diadem, an ominous emblem of undeserved power, casts its baleful shadow upon the scene. The old man, a mere mortal, walks towards the intoxicating allure of authority, blinded by the deceptive glow of the crown's light. The thorns, a sinister manifestation of the deleterious effects of unchecked power, intertwine with the faces, each a harbinger of the corruption that accompanies unearned dominion. The painting whispers a cautionary tale—beware the perilous dance with shadows, for the crown that beckons with false radiance conceals the thorns of ruin.