Tidal Flushing
Accepting Inevitability
“Death Mask” 86”x96” egg tempera and oil on linen 1990
It is the first day of Spring and I am ready for something new. My new work will be “Tidal Flushing.” The lead image for today’s essay is a death mask of my father. It illustrated a previous essay in this series and was painted shortly after his passing . It is based on a photograph I took immediately after his death. It represented what I was just beginning to understand about death, life, tidal flushing, the power of the sea and the vulnerability of the land. Now, I am facing the last years of my life and my life’s inventory must negotiate reality.…