The Spirits of self-sacrifice   1997 
Acrylic on canvas, pine and black birch frame   84 x 36”

Many Aboriginal American tribes saw the wild turkey as embodying the spirit of self-sacrifice.  This painting is my consideration on the nature of self-sacrifice.
   The composition is divided into a light side and a dark side, light representing the pure, giving, Mother Theresa kind of self-sacrifice, and dark side representing the quid pro quo, favor-currying brand.
   The turkey, an innocent animal stands mostly in the light side.  He is standing on top of a chopping block, one foot resting on a pristine apple, representing the purer form of selflessness.  On the dark ground below, lies a rotting, worm-laden apple.
   Blue sky, white aspen trees, brilliant yellow leaves and the beautiful apple above.  The rotten apple, a rotting yellow leaf and darkness below.  Such is the dual nature of self-sacrifice as I see it, this duality represented by the leaves, the apples and the two-headed axe.
   And no matter how pure or impure one’s motives might be, there are always witnesses (even if it’s just one’s self) to all acts of giving.  There are eyes all around.