The Ascend/Descend series was inspired by my travels in Mexico.
Stairs and ladders show up frequently in my paintings.
To me they can represent escape or struggle or travel & adventure.
I also like the idea that stairs can go in either direction, echoing a notion of moral choice.
I'm not at all religious but, as Catholicism is deeply rooted in the Mexican culture,
I've incorporated into some of these paintings the sacred heart,
which is a symbol of the higher ideal of divine love.
The heart was also sacred to the Maya who performed sacrifices at the tops of their stepped
pyramids where the heart was ripped from the chest and presented to the gods.
The below ground openings were inspired by the water cisterns typically found in Mexican homes,
but a little imagination can ascribe more sinister characteristics to these
shadowy subterranean realms, marking that other extreme of moral choice.