Be Not Proud

Mixed Media on Paper

20 x 30 (unframed)

2006

I love this painting!

"Be Not Proud" resulted from my observation of man's tendency to view himself as immortal. The haughty, beautiful girl depicted here turns away from the cadaver Lord Death (painted the way he might have been viewed during the days of the Plague), refusing to see him. She wears her jewels and fine clothes as if they would shield her from the coming Cold. And yet there are signs that her efforts are in vain: her exposed breast represents her vulnerability. The monarch butterflies, thought of by ancient Meso Americans as souls that have passed on, flit carelessly over her body. And in one hand she grips the marigold flower, the autumnal flower of the Dead.

It is wise for us to remember that our time on earth is short, and that we should all live as well as we can.

Private Collection