"Beyond the Threshold"

48" x 36", Acrylic on Canvas

Available

THE STORY:

“Beyond the Threshold” symbolizes an incredibly important part of life, the departure from the safe, known world and leaping into the unknown.  Without risk, there is no reward.

This piece is a twist on the Chinese proverb “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”.

It is not only Salvador Dali who has inspired me, both as an artist and generally. There is a long list of surrealists that have been a part of my creations. This ranges from René Magritte to Vladimir Kush to the Gold Coast’s own Joel Rea, and many more. This is not to say my goal is to reproduce their work. It is more about using their imagery as a slingshot to inspire my own original thought patterns.
In this case, “Beyond the Threshold” represents my launch back into the art world after being away in the business of art for 4-5 years. This piece in particular is purely an original thought inspired by the word Parachute. Although the word is simple, I am using it as a vessel to tell a very complex story, and represent one of the most important steps of my life.  

As this series develops, you will also see that I have a great deal of respect for René Magritte’s work. His piece “Son of Man” had a large impact on me as a young artist, just as the the movie, “The Thomas Crown Affair” did, which paid honour to Magritte’s work.  Similarly, I love to honour the things that I love in life and that is why the bowler’s hat has appeared out of nowhere. If you have not seen the movie…. you should.  
In many ways I have chosen the bowler hat as a representation of my time in the business world but it also reminds me of what I love about life.