Fences, Boxes or Corrals – Are Your Thoughts Controlling You?

These paintings are part of my Fences theme, but it probably should be called boxes or corrals in some of them. But it still deals with limitations and sharp contrasts that exist at the borders of society and thought.

This one is called “The Rainbow Separation” alluding to the fact that our limitations and limited perspective sometimes are beautiful to us. We do not have a better frame of reference or enough experience to understand how are thoughts are controlling us and keeping us from a better life.

The above is titled ” Samari Too” because it reminds me of the intricate armor worn by the historical Japanese Samari Warriors. It symbolized the armor that we build in our minds to protect us against cognitive dissonance. It is pretty easy for us to refuse to believe our own eyes and ears because the facts do not agree with our limited believe systems.

The above is titled “Double Samari”. It appears out of focus, or softens the difference between the contrasting areas. We are often most comfortable if we can just ignore the blur and assume that all are just like us, or at least should think just like us.