I was in awe the first time I saw a Salvador Dali painting. I found all sorts of surreal art in books and went to see them in museums. I was struck by how many magazine advertisements, as well as TV ads, contained elements of surrealism. This school of art has played itself out, but it is still fun.
When I first started painting, I thought that at some point, I would like to try my hand at a surreal painting. I thought it would be fun, and I was right.
I live in Greece for part of the year, and there are some icon painters on the island I live on. Icon art started back in the second and third centuries. These artists studied them and re-created them for tourists. I thought I would like to try that as well. One thing led to another, and I combined both interests in a painting.
I looked through magazines and newspapers, found some interesting images, and then combined them with some images out of my imagination. I just threw them all together, and “Space Icon” emerged.
There is no intended symbolic meaning, but people who saw it provided their own meanings. I suppose a psychiatrist could have some insights, but it was just an artistic explorative trip for me. Surrealism is not an area I will pursue unless commissioned to do so, but I really enjoyed the process, and it was fun. That is very important.