Artist Statement

The inspirations for my paintings derive from many different subjects, however most of my deepest works have been inspired by spiritual thought. Ancient texts, such as the Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls have fascinated me for many years in the questions they provoke such as; where have we been and where are we going? Many of my works have dealt with the subject of Biblical prophecy, which I have found particularly interesting and mysterious. The influences of my style, which I call "psychedelic surrealism", are Salvador Dali because of my great admiration for his work and our common use of double imagery, and also Peter Max's pallet of bold vibrant colors. I have found this to be a fresh combination that gives my style an originality and uniqueness of it's own, especially since many of my paintings glow when illuminated with UV blacklight. Something special clicks for me when I paint in that surreal atmosphere that just seems right, and natural for me.

Original oil painting, and poem by Vincent Monaco

The Meatplow

The meatplow turns,
Yielding its gnashing teeth.
Devouring all,
All the kids that it meets.

It butchers our boys,
Leaving only horror and sadness in its wake,
But we keep turning it back on,
Sometimes it seems we just can't wait.

The meatplow is so horrible,
It spins its razored head,
Sending them back to us dead.
Why? Why haven't we learned the lessen yet?

How can we rationalize,
The harvest this evil beast reaps?
Constantly feeding it our sons,
Continually for its meat.

Can you spot these double images and symbols?

* A woman giving birth to the Earth.
* A starving African child.
* A mushroom cloud.
* 666, (The mark of the beast from Revelation 13)
* A hidden face with one eye closed.
* Three dollar signs.
* A dove.

Inspired by Mathew 24 of The Bible regarding the signs of the 2nd coming of Christ, and the end of this age. Jesus compares the worlds conditions to labor pangs. The analogy being the worlds's conditions would be just as a woman's labor pangs become closer together, and more intense signaling the closer it is to the time of the birth so it will be to signal the time is growing near for his return.

Birth Pangs

(Original: Acrylic on canvas, 62"x 48")

From Mathew 24 of The Bible.

3) As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age?" 4) And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray. 5) For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. 6) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8) all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.