Yucca Valley, California

oil on canvas

28 inches long x 22 inches wide

Ten years following the initial neck injury I painted this self-portrait; a study in the unceasing coldness that set in after surgery and the continuing awareness of the area of surgery, a self-consciousness about the resulting scar and the residual pain. This is despair and resignation combined with a determination that saw me through many years of surgeries and pain and treatment yet to come. A kind of image of myself as a noble warrior - bow arm bared - facing the battle ahead.