Garden of Earthly Disasters

This summer Dennis and I were asked to participate in a project initiated by the Jefferson Nature Center in Medford called Shifting Patterns. Eleven artists attended an intense education on the subject of Climate Change and then were asked to respond with a piece of art. The intention was to possibly convey the subject in a way that was more "right brain" than charts and graphs and dire climate models. The pieces were presented by the artists in a series of public forums last month.
I had a lot of ideas about artistic metaphors that might express my alarm over what I had learned, but when it came to put brush to canvas I realized what I really wanted to do was rant. The result is below, and after that some close ups of different sections. The painting is 34 x 24 oil on canvas, mostly done with a pallet knife.

 I feel like the subject of Climate Change is so overwhelming that most of us prefer to put bags over our heads rather that confront it. The text reads: WTF? / idk!

 And who is left to try to hold the whole thing up? The youth of today and their subsequent generations.

Corporate board meeting and recycling truck spewing trash. I rather enjoyed this venting of all my pet peeves!

If you'd like to see this painting in the real I have sent it off to the benefit show for SITKA Art and Ecology Center that will be at the Forestry Center in Portland next weekend. Info here.
When I get it back ( I guess I should say if) I think I will add two more panels on either side; one on the left in sepia of the scene pre-industrial, and one on the right a drawing in blueprint of the future where the challenges are being met by those future generations.