Jezebel

The driftwood I found on a beach on one of Washington State's islands inspired me to paint this alluring piece adorned with cactus blooms. The positions in which the driftwood lay on the ground looked very feminine and mermaid-like. I painted with deep, rich colors that feel old world to me. She is dark by nature, perhaps evil by definition, but beautiful and seductive. Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, Queen of Israel in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a strong woman, the power behind the throne.