This painting references Picasso’ Guernica (which he created as a reaction to the bombing of the city in 1937). I painted it in 2020 as a reaction to the multiple forces piling upon each other at the same time making it difficult to breathe: the pandemic, the smoky air from the raging California fires, and the murder of George Floyd by police.
Painting detail: a bighorn sheep on a peak in the midst of smoke. I had recently gone backpacking in the Angeles National Forest and saw wild bighorn sheep. Just a few weeks later, the forest in that area burned (the Bobcat Fire) and I hoped the wildlife found ways to survive.
Another detail.