Isolation, tempera on panel, 12″ x 9″, 2025.
Isolation is a small painting, 12″ x 9″, painted with egg tempera on a wood panel. It is a night scene – most of the colors are dark. A warm, yellow-orange light pours out of a window silhouetting a single, isolated figure that gazes out. Shadows are cast across the green lawn. As night approaches, the sturdy house protects the lone figure from the threats of nature represented by the evening sky. This suburban American scene depicts isolation and community at the same time.
We seek privacy and security for ourselves and our families in worlds of our own creation. We build solid suburban clusters and villages of modern homes. This similarity unites people and creates community. Yet because of our individualism, and our desire for privacy, these same structures and neighborhoods cause isolation. At times, there is a deep sense of loneliness. Paradoxically, we desire both privacy and a strong community as the homes that house us, and our families become the bricks that build our civilization.