Saint Guépard (after Bassano, Dr. Moreau)

Oil on Panel

9" x 12"

2023

The inspiration for this piece began after viewing the Byzantine and Renaissance wing of the Getty Center Museum in Los Angeles. In particular, I was fascinated by their color palettes and detailing. I wanted to create something reminiscent of that work, but my own take on it.

I have always been compelled by H.G. Wells’s book, the Island of Dr Moreau, which I read several times since I was young (as well as the 1977 movie). I love the religious and anthropological messaging, creepy animal hybrids, dark medical experiments, and general weirdness. So, this piece emerged. I kind of think of them as a saint-like figure among the Beast Folk, in an alternate timeline.