Painting: Oil on Canvas

Painted: 1999

Size: 16” x 20”

Owner: In storage

There are moments when I do an internal audit, and I take a realistic look at my motivations. This was painted after one of those moments. I know I’m capable of running over people like a steam roller with no regard for their feelings. This is not intentional it is simply a fact that I need to be aware of all the time.  I am also fooled on occasion by a trusted acquaintance and that is my fault. This painting is a reminder that not everything is as it appears.  No one really knows what lies behind the façade people wear. The sweetest little old lady could kill you in your sleep. Most people lie to themselves, so they do not really know what they’re capable of doing. Man’s true nature emerges when they are trapped. Want to know someone better, watch them react in times of stress. I’ve seen mothers abandon their children to save their own skin. There are psychopaths and sociopaths that live and work beside us daily. The mask protects them but understand this, they would stab you in the back and ruin your reputation in a heartbeat if it was to their advantage. Most men and women try to be good at their core, but there are those that revel in chaos and love to watch the world burn. Trust must be earned. With family, it is very hard to see past the masks and act objectively even when it is in your loved one’s best interest. Each of us needs to do an internal audit if for nothing more than to know ourselves.