oil on panel
12” x 12

 The painting "Sleeping with your Ghost" though surreal in nature was done during a period in my life when being haunted by a ghost of the past was a nightly occurrence.  I was going through a tough breakup and although the girl had moved out of the house it seemed like I was being haunted by her memory.  In an attempt to heal I went about trying to depict in paint the feeling that was overwhelming me.  I suppose its a very vulnerable thing to do, to try and express honestly things that are not really flattering toward you.  But I always say if you paint from your intellect people will react from their intellect if you paint from your heart you open the possibility that people might react with their heart.  Later when this painting was exhibited I watched a freshly divorced woman look at it and sob.  On another occasion someone said to me simply, “I’m glad this exists”  Perhaps there is consolation in knowing that we all experience this type of pain, and In my moment of feeling alone I was actually with all the world.