The title of this new painting, 36″ by 36″ on canvas. is Concordia, which is a Latin word for harmony as well as the name of the Roman goddess of harmony. It translates literally as with one heart which I felt was really appropriate for this piece based on the role that the Red Tree has played in my career.
The beginning of the Red Tree is often asked about at the gallery talks I give and I usually just describe the chronology of its emergence in my work, how it was little more than a compositional element in the beginning, something that brought a central focus to the painting. But describing what the Red Tree has evolved into for myself over the years in terms of its meaning is sometimes difficult to explain in the moment at these talks.
Yes, it is still a mere element that brings the eye to the center around which everything else in the painting more or less revolves. In that respect, it is the sun in its own solar system. But over time I have come to recognize that the Red Tree is the exposed heart of my work, the emotional center that speaks out to the world in a way I never could as myself.
It is a heart that seeks harmony in its existence, to be at one with the world.
With one heart.
Concordia.
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This painting will be part of my solo show Native Voice which opens two weeks from today, June 5, at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria. VA.
Redtree Times 
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