View a similar painting.

Shadowplay
Shadowplay was created in September of 2009.  The painting was inspired by two sources:  The Killers’ song Shadowplay and Robert Rankin’s novel The Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse.  Both sources of inspiration convey a story of appealing gloom. 

To begin, the Killers’ song tells of a night, in the city, of a person’s death amidst shadows, dancing assassins and steel.  They set their story against catchy, danceable music, and one can get lost in their exuberance to even notice that the story isn’t one with a happy ending. 

Robert Rankin’s novel takes readers through an adolescent detective’s search to solve murder mysteries in a world governed by literary characters.  Again, a reader can become so amused by the quirks of toys and dolls that it is forgotten that the novel’s world is corrupt and quite wicked.  Left at each murder scene is a chocolate bunny.

To maintain the feel of storytelling and fantasy, the artist uses bright colors in Shadowplay.  To disturb the fantasy, amid the colors occurs a murder-- in the city, among shadows, celebrated by dancing assassins, at the end of an ancient dagger.  A timepiece with no scientific legitimacy is being used to solve the mystery, and the head of a bunny looks on.  Two hands become a part of the story.  One hand holds the illegitimate timepiece, and the other hand is distorted and green with greed.  The first hand represents the work being done to bring about justice, even though inevitably to no avail.  For how can a murder be solved with tools that reveal nothing?  The second hand represents the limb of the criminal—perverted and guided by wickedness. Underneath the entire painting are remnants of shadows.

Extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial was created in October of 2009.  The painting was inspired first by The Killers’ song Spaceman and reinforced by the artist’s recollection of a childhood film- the 1988 comedy Earth Girls are Easy.  From these two sources, the artist was inspired to create a visual satire of romance and love.  Extraterrestrial keeps in harmony with the artistic style of an earlier painting, Shadowplay.  Extraterrestrial is a part of a running series in which the artist is inspired by songs created by The Killers.

To begin, the Killers’ song tells of a night when a man is ripped from his bed and becomes the victim of alien probing.  He is a lonely man, but underneath his experience exist hope and renewal.  He is a bit lost; he hears voices.  Viewing Extraterrestrial while listening to Spaceman affords the viewer an interesting experience that harmonizes the painting’s visual details with the lyrics of the song.   

The artist’s failure to find love she reduces to the notion that instead of not “falling in love,”love just hasn’t “fallen upon her.”  She is amused by entertaining the fantasy that she should look beyond the terrestrial realm;   perhaps, she’ll be more successful with falling in love with an alien.  Earth Girls are Easy embraces the idea that aliens and humans can fall in love with one another.

Along the painting’s borders are inscribed the words, “I think I’m in love with an extraterrestrial.”  This inscription summarizes the hope within the painting and the artist herself.