Royal Cards, Chess and Games

Chess:  Although I have not played chess for several decades, the game and chess pieces symbolize history, deliberate thinking and strategy, and a “journey.” The board itself fascinates in order and perspective, the rook is a tower advancing or besieged, the knight a noble steed, the pawns yeomen and peasants, the bishops conniving as Colbert, the queen as illusive and royal as Guinevere, and the king powerful yet bound to play out his peculiar hand. Because the chess pieces are columnar, I see them as part of an architectural structure, set against sunset skies and inky panoramas studded with diamond flashing stars. An element of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” often enters into the paintings as well.

Cards:  The royal card images in various settings and activities are the direct result of my study of the painted faces found in 13th century French and English stained glass. Those faces were repeated through the centuries on playing cards. To think that they began in cathedrals and ended up in Las Vegas! It is perhaps the most playful of the series – and, yes, perhaps one step beyond the chairs into the human world of thought and emotion.