Dream language
When people stand in front of one of my figure paintings, some tell me they are trying to figure out the story behind it, while others prefer to invent their own stories, and some are content to just look. Dreams have an unconscious intent in the sense that the dreamer cannot consciously control the dream, so naturally there is no need for the viewer to feel pressured to figure out what the dream meant to the dreamer. This series began when a friend offered me his dream to paint. I was intrigued by the inventive associations made by his mind in REM sleep. In these paintings, as in the dream itself, are layers of symbolism and word play around the central figures—messages to the dreamer repeated in various symbolic forms as if to ensure they are not lost. Some of the associations are personal, so not obvious, but there are clues in these paintings that can be read in different ways, or just enjoyed without knowing the context of the dream.
