This piece depicts the martyrdom of the modern white collar worker,
a realm from which I myself escaped several years ago. The martyr earns his
angel wings (however real or artificial) by fulfilling societal expectations
to support his family, put a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and
pay his bills. The items in the open briefcase speak to these obligations, and
also to the necessary sacrifice of precious time they entail. The encircling
thorns are meant to create the atmosphere of painful entrapment.
Note: I almost always include an insect or bug in my larger paintings. In this
case it is in the label within the briefcase which depicts an ant, a true
sacrificial worker if ever there was one.