Midwest Massacre
Pastel on sandpaper
22 x 28 in.

The first painting in the Heckyl & Jeckyl series. At this point I had no idea it was going to be a series. I imagined myself painting sunflowers and corn fields with Van Gogh in the countryside when a couple of magpies showed up in the composition. They must have been doing a little reconnaissance work for the huge flock sailing towards us on the horizon. This is a fateful, fragile scene, but to the birds it's just lunch. This is my interpretation of the event, I guess Van Gogh did something else.