About the painting, GONE, AMBER WAVES (TO THE GATES OF INIQUITY)
GONE, AMBER WAVES (TO THE GATES OF INIQUITY)
ORIGINAL _ Completed May 1, 2022_ Oil _ Canvas_ 40 in x 30 in _
ABOUT THE PAINTING
This oil painting is about the current status of the United States food supply. And Americans are now being told that the worst is yet to come as the summer of 2022 approaches. Sizzle. The simple fact is that plants require fertilizer to grow (DUH), and fertilizer (a derivative product of natural gas) has been impacted by what is happening to the natural gas industry. (Flick the switch to 'off' and poof no more natural gas industry, WITH NOTHING YET READY TO REPLACE IT! How stupid was that?) Surely somebody on either side of the partisan divide should have recognized this simple fact (But 'apparently' - No). But then again, you stop yourself, and you have to wonder, could all of the Leaders be that stupid? . . .
Add to all that an actual war which has impacted countries known as the "World's Breadbaskets" turning their arable land into land that won't be usable to grow crops for years to come. Finally, for those not solely on a plant-based diet, livestock also do require food for their survival. (DUH 2.0) [So, no natural gas industry -> no fertilizer -> & then no food -> & the livestock need food too, so also no food for the livestock -> can't emphasize it enough: NO FOOD!] I am left with questions without answers: Are we heading into the worst famine in the history of mankind on a Global scale? Why doesn't any Leader in any Country have the ability to think about results several steps ahead of just the day after tomorrow?] I'm just an artist. Not a politician. Not a great thinker. But even I am wondering about what is going on - and it is impacting what is flowing from me through my brush to mark this moment in history.
Now nearly two months have passed since I completed this painting, President Castillo in Peru has deployed the Army in his country and initiated a state of emergency. Skyrocketing inflation there is resulting in strikes by truckers unable to afford fuel, and thus is also resulting in supply chain breakdowns. The "No Fertilizer, No Food paradigm is now magnified by the fact there's also no way to actually get the food to market. The food supply is at risk.
And in Ecuador, the price of fuel is also rising, and since natural gas -> fertilizer, and fertilizer -> food, food costs are rising there as well. In turn, this is sparking protests and threatening democracies. The food supply is at risk. This is happening all over the World with the most vulnerable Nations leading the way. . .
Similarly, there are violent protests in Sri Lanka. There are violent demonstrations in Egypt and Iraq, Turkey and Sudan, and Spain and Brazil and Albania and Britain. In Egypt the government tried price controls and then started seizing food from farmers to deal with food shortages. (Will the U.S. government also seize and control our food supply and determine which Americans get to eat and which do not? Or worse, will our fate be in the hands of just one individual?)
A premonition . . a feeling . . a guttural sense overcoming me . . that expressed itself in "GONE, AMBER WAVES," and is unbelievably, remarkably, frighteningly - - starting to unfold. It is coming true. . . . . . It's coming. . . . it is coming. . . . And with it, famine the likes of which we've never seen before, resulting unrest, chaos, anarchy, danger. . . . I so hope I am wrong. . . I am not a particularly religious person and yet I find myself praying and looking for an anchor to steady me through this storm . . . someone who can see what I see & help me to make sense of it all so that I don't have to view the coming tsunami afraid and alone . . . and the premonitions just keep on coming. . . . I wish that they would stop so I can get some sleep . . . .
It is now clear to most watching intensely all of the news as it unfolds around the World, that 2nd and 3rd order results from our actions were never looked at or thoroughly considered with the push by America for a war in Ukraine by both short-sighted sides of the partisan divide (as opposed to pushing for peace -- pushing for negotiations - - - any kind of negotiations whatsoever for some - for any sort of peace agreement, however flawed it might have been - and there is no doubt that it would have been VERY flawed And yet ~ )
Nobody pushed for peace, and one has to ask oneself, "WHY WAS THAT?" (Which politicians on both sides of the growing political divide owned stock in the Defense sector?) . . . just asking. . .
The very real possibility of a Global Famine, the likes of which has never been seen before in World history, is becoming more and more likely. If such a famine does occur, the human osmotic pressure resulting from such a famine is likely going to force millions through South America and northward. We are already beginning to see that on the U.S. Southern border, though the Main Stream media both right and left are failing to cover this ongoing human tragedy. Is that intentional? (Fortunately, several independent journalists have been streaming live daily from the U.S. southern border to let the World know exactly what is really happening there).
This morning, nearly 50 people were found stacked dead in a semi truck heading to the U.S., stacked in its trailer, deceased from the heat. Human tragedy of epic proportions is already unfolding. We are on the cusp. I can't stop thinking about all the people, all the suffering, coming. . . . and my heart is crying out for them even as they themselves do not see what is out in front . . .
Continental migration from Africa, Asia and South America is already starting to flow up through Panama through the Darién Gap. Already, new routes are being set up around this area to handle the flow. The Darién Gap in Panama in an area bordering Colombia. It is the only overland route into South America. It is dangerous for human travel and is known to be a haven for Colombian guerrillas and drug-trafficking. Many who enter the Darién gap don't make it out alive. Women and young girls (and young boys) are raped there. Another tragedy of epic proportions. Human trafficking. . . . drug trafficking. . . cartels getting wealthier and wealthier with human beings, suffering . . . . All this, but it is only a small part of the human tragedy about to unfold.
The collapse of a complex system is upon us. All this was foremost in my mind when I began painting "GONE, AMBER WAVES" several months ago. The painting takes its title from lyrics in our song, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL:
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee . .
The addition of the word "GONE" preceding "Amber waves" suggests that there will be no food, which is why only two stalks of wheat (grain) are painted in this work. According to Farm Land Riches and The New York Post, in January 2021, a co-founder of Microsoft became the largest private owner of farmland in the country, now owning over a quarter million acres of farmland located across several states! This fact has left many people to wonder and to worry why any one individual would make these investment moves. And perhaps more importantly, how the U.S. government would allow any one individual to privately control the U.S. food supply? Equally concerning, foreign adversaries have also been actively buying up U.S. agricultural areas - farmland, food processing plants, etc.
So many questions, few answers: What is going on here? All of it concerning.
GONE, AMBER WAVES has been juried into a show at GALLERY 825 in Los Angeles, opening on JULY 9th, 2022.
The address is 825 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, California.
The Gallery is open from 10:00am until 5:00pm.
There is metered street parking out front.
Hope to see you!
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PROVENANCE:
July/ August 2022 - 'Make Plain' Exhibition at Gallery 825, the Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles California
October 2022 - Art In America
* Note: Original is on 7/8" (Deep) stretch bars.
* ARCHIVAL PRINTS ALSO AVAILABLE *
