This painting was inspired partially by Ilya Repin's "Sadko" and partially by my readings on Freud's contributions to our understanding of the unconscious and the subconscious minds. "Underwater Dream" represents a human's invitation to the unconscious, via the subconscious (in my symbology, this is represented by the underwater realm), to manifest itself. Freud pursued the unknowable unconscious by way of analyzing his patients' dreams and neuroses. I am limited to the tools I have at hand: paint, canvas and brush.
Repin's work in "Sadko" is beautiful and evocative. In its colors, its draftsmanship, and its theme it takes me deep into the silent majesty of the muted underwater world. As I painted, I sought something similar. I wanted "Underwater Dream," as "Sadko," to have as its armature an undeniable "strangeness of proportion" (to borrow a line from Sir Francis Bacon).
The ocean of the subconscious -- the vast kingdom beneath the waves -- is a place I think of often. Though we are little aware of it, we come from that dreamwise place. Our very anchors seek stability at the bottom of our own seas of unreason.
Pictured: "Underwater Dream" 35"x25" acrylics and collage on canvas. Available.
