Painting

Pastels
11x11"
2006

Inspired by the non-representational decorations of the Megalith peoples of Europe, Sunspots is an interpretation of a circle motif from New Grange, Ireland. Dating to c. 3500 BC, circles and spirals were commonly engraved on walls and utilitarian objects of tombs and altars. New Grange is a passage tomb that measures 45' high and 265' in diameter and is oriented toward the midwinter's sunrise. The name, New Grange, possibly derives from "an uamh greine" or "cave of the sun." This is an installation of the Fire Flame & Sun series.

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Further information on the derivation of New Grange can be found in:
Hock, R. E., "Some Henges and Hengiform Earthworks in Ireland," Ph. D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1975,
and is cited in:
Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of the British Isles, New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 1975, 24.