This Place gives me the Creeps, We’re Out of Here

Among the oldest known artworks on earth are the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in France. While most caves with art depict almost exclusively prey animals, the Chauvet Cave has many dangerous prehistoric predators roaming its walls, the prehistoric bear and lions in particular abound.

I have the cave lion size just right for it to be a threat to the calf. I was imagining a rhino, a huge powerful and generally not pleasant tempered animal. It is an herbivore, so a prey animal, but being one of the largest land animal on earth, it has no predators, with the very large exception of humans. Put a calf beside it however, and suddenly it, or more precisely its calf, is a prey animal. The perspective from which the rhino views the world is suddenly, and dramatically altered. In its panic to get its calf away from the perceived danger, the rhino is literally breaking through the frame.

I enjoy using my artistic licence to play with time lines, and to juxtapose ancient artwork and reality, and have them interacting. Cave Paintings are really amazing to me, I love the way a few simple strokes can evoke such a powerful image, and I am in awe of the artists who created them.

This painting has participated in the following International Exhibit;
12th International Painting Exhibition, Omma Center for Contemporary Art, Crete, Greece 2002