This is one of the larger paintings,a canvas at 20″ by 60″ in size, from my show Now and Then which opens Friday at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria,VA. The title of this piece is Ratio Decidendi, which is a legal term that translates to “rationale for the decision.” I’m no legal nor Latin scholar but this basically indicates the deciding factor that the Court uses as a basis for its ruling, the whole precept behind the rationale for its decision. For me, that more simply translates to the reason behind ones views and actions.
I may be twisting the true meaning of the term here but it seems to me that all of our actions and reactions are based on our rationale of our own perspective and beliefs. All argument stems from the distance between what we believe to be true and what other see as true. Everyone believes that their viewpoint is the correct one and they act accordingly.
I see the action of this painting, the blowing of the red tree, as a purer, more natural translation of the term. All actions in nature are basically based on truth. The wind doesn’t deceive. The rain and snow don’t cloak themselves in half-truths. Rivers don’t rationalize.
So, in this piece, the wind blows and the tree sways. The wind can only do what it does and the tree can only react in one way. They are what they are and that is the truth.
Redtree Times 