Sean Curley

The Garden of Eden

Oil on canvas, 48″ X 32″

This painting evolved over a handful of years, originally intended as a contemporary Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden scene. Initially I painted the two figures in a simple, sculptural, style, intending both to avoid the Adam and Eve stereotypes and perhaps hinting that the Eve figure may actually be Lilith, the mythical first wife of Adam. I used some photographs of the olive groves of Zakinthos for the background, a resource I frequently return to, hoping the twisted trunks and branches would add a bit of drama to the scene, seeking to create a feeling of unease. The two types of thorn, ( very much stylised! ), are the yellow flowered Devil’s Thorn, winding like a snake around the couple, and a, more or less invented, white flowered thorn symbolising the Crown of Thorns of Jesus; a hint at both the originality and subsequent forgiveness of sin.