The Story

Inspired by my travels in Florence, Italy, Journey draws on the tradition of Italian grottesche. The word “grotesque” did not originally mean ugly or gross—it comes from grottesche, the name given to ancient Roman wall paintings discovered in underground “grottoes.” These elaborate decorations combine scrolling vines, flowers, animals, human figures, and mythological hybrids in imaginative, dreamlike compositions—exactly the kind of mystical world I explore in my own paintings.

The painting was inspired by the magnificent ceiling frescoes I encountered at Palazzo Vecchio as well as on the ceiling of the corridors of the Uffizi. I was staying just off Piazza della Signoria, and when I wandered into the palace, I was completely awestruck by the beauty and intricacy of the painted ceilings.

Materials & Framing

This painting was created with archival oil paint on a museum-grade panel, using luminous mineral pigments derived from lapis lazuli, azurite, rhodonite, and traditional Italian earth pigments. These richly colored materials have a deep connection to art history. Lapis lazuli, azurite, and earth pigments were treasured by Italian Renaissance masters for their depth, brilliance, and enduring beauty.

I am also drawn to gemstones for their symbolic and metaphysical associations. Lapis lazuli has long been connected with intuition, inner wisdom, and spiritual insight. Azurite is traditionally associated with expanded awareness, transformation, and the opening of the mind to unseen realms. Rhodonite is believed to open and nurture the heart, encouraging compassion, emotional healing, and self-love. By incorporating these pigments into the painting, the materials become more than sources of color, they carry their own histories, energies, and layers of meaning.

The painting is presented in a hand-painted, carved wooden frame made in Italy and embellished with gold leaf. The frame was carefully selected to echo the ornate architectural details, decorative flourishes, and gilded surfaces I encountered throughout Florence. Rather than simply surrounding the painting, it becomes an extension of the artwork itself, completing the sense that the piece might be a small fragment lifted from an ancient Florentine palazzo.

Journey

oil on panel

5 x 7 inches

$1,500 USD

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