KAIROS

Jan 14, 2025

On the beach, a shallow ring of water forms around an ammonite fossil. Curled up and naked, a woman lies on her side atop the ridged surface of the spiral. Her eyes are closed as if she's asleep…or perhaps lost deep in contemplation. Her arms are a tangle, with one bent to sink fingers into her dark blonde hair. Beneath her, the other arm extends past the point of her knee to hold up the fanned leaf of a gingko tree against the smooth skin of her calf. Small shards crack off the ammonite as the water retreats over smooth sand. In the immediate foreground mossy rocks jut out of the sand. In the background, larger angled rock formations partially obscure the horizon but open enough to provide a view of the frothy surf rolling in. — KAIROS (2007), Acrylic - 24" x 36"

I didn't want to just call this PRUDENCE 3, so I looked all over for a word that captured the idea of the painting, and KAIROS is the only one that fit.

The ancient Greeks had 2 words for time: "chronos" referring to chronological or sequential time and "kairos" meaning a more undetermined period in which something special happens.

The leaf comes from a Gingko, an ancient tree which has survived from prehistoric times. I often use Ammonite fossils as symbols of extinction, or a gentle reminder of the vast span of time, and sometimes a memento mori on a global scale.

Figure study for KAIROS featuring a model lying naked and curled on her side with eyes closed. She rests one hand flat near her head giving the impression that she's sleeping, but her other arm extends along the ground to hold up a ginkgo leaf delicately by the stem for examination. The pose is slightly different from the painting as the leaf would be visible if her arm weren't blocking it. — Figure study for KAIROS

The woman in my picture is choosing to contemplate survival, so I guess you could label this painting as a "Memento vivendi", if you want to put in a snooty art term label to describe it.

It's a positive statement, but conditionally so. The choice is there for each of us. Let's hope we choose to move forward and realize the potential for good that lies within us.

The painting is about humanity at a vastly important turning point, and whether we go the way of the Gingko [still around thru many mass extinction events] or the ammonite [didn't make it] is an open question.

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