Last Light, 2025
Oil on linen
44 x 52

“Last Light meditates on the passing of a day, a life, questioning the setting sun. Are we seeing this light for the final time, or is the light that fills the eyes something new? A mortal man steps forward from a dark space, his arm bandaged, covering his latest wounds. Sagging, he stands upright. Recently, he danced. Soon, he will pull over to the side of the road, knowing that he is dying. Perhaps, at this threshold, he sees the light. Is it a golden reflection of all that has been, or is it also a luminous beginning?

“Chuck Aucoin was an enigmatic Canadian who cheerily started his career as an art model in his eighties with my class being his first time posing fully nude. What tickled him so much was that as a young man, when folks asked him what he did for a living, he said he was a nude model – the irony being that he was a monk at the time. I invited him to Iowa to model for a few weeks. We created seven paintings together, one of which was a large study for Last Light. In 2025-2026 I had time to re-examine the study and create a new narrative that acknowledges Chuck’s passing. From a solid practice of years working directly from life, my work gravitates toward layers of expressions, incorporating numerous styles, mediums, and materials while still revolving around the figural and the organic. Over the years, these efforts evolved into installations, series, and singular works such as Last Light.”

44 x 52

Oil on linen