Statement of Work
I began working on "Angel Azrael" soon after the events of 9/11 and as I expanded, so did the vision and the message in this painting. I completed her over the course of 12 years. The foreground of this work is colored pencil on vellum. The top layer floats over a background of rose petals that are watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper. This gives the painting a multidimensional effect and reflects my personal belief that we are multidimensional souls having a physical experience.
The painting depicts Azrael releasing petals from a bouquet of multicolored roses into ethereal spirals of smoke. Each individual petal represents a loss of life on that fateful day while the petal color indicates that individuals affiliation. There are 343 red petals representing the FDNY, 60 peach petals representing NYPD & Port Authority Police officers, 1,959 pink petals representing civilians at the WTC, 246 yellow petals representing passengers of Flights #11, #175, #93, & #77, 125 violet petals representing those that lost their lives at the Pentagon, and 19 black petals representing the hijackers. I included the black petals to show how the absence of light impacted so many innocent souls. While Azrael is recognized in most major religions, in this piece I drew from the Hebrew mysticism which details the Angel lovingly shepherding souls to Heaven and consoling survivors of tragic events.
This painting is a testament to the reality of infinite Love, the hope of eternal Life and an awareness of the Light within each of us.
