Frida and the Red Road

Some paintings have a story behind it, and some of them just come to me as an image that pops into my mind and just says, "paint me!". This is one of them. The idea just came to mind in February of this year (2020) before we knew about the Corona Virus. Some strange things occurred while I was creating this piece. As I was painting the road, red, I had been doing some gardening out front (we live in south Florida) my studio window. I had wanted to clear out these little rocks that ran alongside the driveway. As I began clearing away the rocks, I noticed some red bricks that were under there. As we began removing all the rocks, we realized these bricks ran the whole length of the drive way and looked like a little red road! We never knew it was there! Also, again as I was painting the snake at the right side of the painting, I noticed movement right outside my studio window. I went to see what it was, and spied a little black snake, crawling up the tree at the base; just like inside my painting! Very strange but I believe no accident. I take it as signs that I was in the right place and time, with my creation and in life in general; right where I need to be.

​Now with the story of this painting, I leave it up to you!  I like to think of it as Frida playing a game of hide and seek with the skeleton on the other side; or maybe she is hiding in quarantine from the Corona Virus. Is the skeleton good or bad?  Is the Red Road good or bad?  Not sure, but the light coming from behind the gate is of course good.  Light in all my paintings represents Loving Source; a light that is present within all of us. The Tiki Man in the upper right hand corner is always a fixture in many of my paintings.  Some people have said it represents death to them.  For me, it's an eternal witness to this journey of life that we're all on.  All in all, the painting feels very playful and happy to me.  I enjoyed painting it very much and I hope it brings these good and happy feelings that we all need more of.  Blessings.