Rising Series

Paintings on Global Warming

Rising is a series of ten seascapes depicting the effects of global warming. The subject of the sea has always interested me for its opposing forces—the movement of the waves against the stillness of the rocks, the light of the breakers against the dark sea. Influenced by environmental concerns impacting the world today, I began collaging images onto the seascapes. These paintings speak of the magnitude of natural disasters besieging our coastlines and the impact global warming and the rising seas has on our way of life.

The paintings Shark and Polar reflect the challenge to sea life as the oceans foul with debris. Hawk predicts the horrific storms for which we are destined. In Sonar, the eye of the storm is mimicked in the eye of the dolphin. 1953 describes the threat to the nuclear family and our lost innocence. The women in Spirit are purveyors of peace, the lineage of our future. The colors of their saris repeat in the burning oceans. Rescue revisits images burned into our psyche from 911. The navigational charts are metaphors for our lost sense of direction as well as our shifting shores. The elongated proportion of this series strangely forewarns Japan’s tsunami disaster.

The paintings reflect an uncertain future and challenge us in our daunting responsibility as guardians of the planet.