1992, 18” x 24”, acrylic
One of the ideas behind "Cardinal and Sumac" was inspired by a Smithsonian Museum display of an authentic east Indian village, complete with villagers going about their daily business. I was strolling through when, all of a sudden, a villager wearing a flaming red turban walked past a rich terra cotta-coloured wall. I was struck by the red-on-red vision -- it just sizzled. I knew then I would someday paint a cardinal in sumac.