Tim Johnson Patriarchs and angry deities

This painting explores the meaning of a couple of seemingly opposing concepts. There is imagery of patriarchs and ancestral figures from a number of different cultures. The Holy Roman emperors from an Albrecht Dürer print are shown in the centre and there are specific Buddhas and art stars such as Vincent van Gogh, Francis Bacon and Clifford Possum. Angry deities are usually found in Eastern religions. They are wrathful and their appearance is often disturbing, but their actions promote good by combating evil.

In another way the painting is a snapshot of an internet search, but it goes much deeper than that and reflects ideas and interests that I have been studying and painting about for years.

- Tim Johnson