This painting was a texture study in the beginnig. My instructor at the university put all kinds of strange objects on a huge table. We were to create a composition that included simulated and actual textures. Of course I had to play up the contrasting colors. And before it was over I added the rain and the new growth that often comes when things die.

This is true of us as well. Often when we finally die to something we find hard to let go of, something new and beautiful comes form the struggle and the death. This was the first of many paintings that I added rain which is symbolic of tears and trials.