Shield (Mean)

20″ x 20″ x 2″
Pigment, oil, egg, and skin glue on panel
2008

1 of 9 of the first group of paintings on curved panel, finished in January 2008. 1 of 5 that remain, and are included in the exhibition.

By “mean” I mean meaning (not “unkind”). The text on the painting is “This time I meant it.” This common statement struck me as an interesting phrase because when someone says it, you can be quite sure that it is false. So, in many ways, context is more important that grammatical sense with respect to meaning. And in the context of text and texture and symbol and meaning and color and space (i.e. in the context of painting) this is an interesting and fun idea to play with.