The Mysteries. Oil on canvas. 90cm square.
I think that’s pretty much it.
The ideas behind this work were:
• To make something on a very red ground after doing a few paintings on very blue backgrounds
• To make a work that has some of the power of the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii; what is happening? in my painting I don’t know either
• To make a painting that isn’t like any other
• To make the sitter look in control of the situation
It’s taken a while from the original work at the Mary and Centre to where the painting has ended up. Now what to do with it. It dominates any room you put it in.
Here’s some images of the Villa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Mysteries
