Seven Deadly Sins go Clubbing
Gouache, 18 x 15.5 inches, 2005.
I do like to paint the Seven Deadly Sins. I'm not sure what the attraction is - partly it's the challenge: it's always tricky fitting them all in - worse than ordinary crowd scenes where you can always stick in an extra person or so where necessary. But there's something else - I suppose it's the combination of the Seven Sins being so very human - and at the same time the concept has roots in something mystical or mythical. I was assured in the strongest of terms by a nice lady vicar (who despaired of my artwork) that the Seven Deadly Sins are not biblical, but they still have that aura of something sacred, which is always fun to mess around with if you're basically a bit naughty... Actually the nice lady vicar's actual words were, sighing: 'Why are people always attracted to the dark side' I think I probably giggled and took it as a compliment...
Seven Deadly Sins Go Clubbing
Anyway, this time the Sins are at a rather naff disco, and as usual, most of them are not having a lot of fun... From left to right, then: Avarice, Lust, Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, and Sloth is crawling away at the front. I'm rather fond of poor little Envy - dressed almost exactly the same as Pride, but she'll never manage to carry it off, and she knows it.
Seven Deadly Sins Go Clubbing - close-up of the Sin's faces
There are of course Seven Heavenly Virtues, and I'm tempted to do something with these one day. But for now, perhaps you might like to look at another 'Sins' painting of mine - click thumbnail to the left.