Sean Curley

Oil on canvas, 30″ X 40″

I completed this painting towards the end of 2019, over the period of political turmoil of the U.K. leaving the EU, or not, as indeed occurred! Several elements of the painting reflect the times in which it was painted – the crows and butterflies are a reference to the end of one era and the rebirth into the next for example, and I included the ” sword of truth ” with reference to the difficulty I had finding such a commodity at the time. Originally I had intended to paint myself fleeing the stresses of the times in a similar way to Munch’s Scream painting, and decided to include the Christ like figure and the crows in the background as the painting evolved, changing the feel of the painting and adding a layer of mystery and, perhaps, a fear of mortality. I had already included the moon, which, as a symbol of immortality, seemed quite fitting now. The butterflies were always intended as a symbol of rebirth, but now took on the extra symbolism of resurrection and of the immortal soul.

Originally intended as nothing more than a self portrait, this painting perfectly displays, I feel, how a painting of mine evolves during the process of actually painting it, absorbing inspiration and ideas from all sorts of sources.