Poison and Passion

A new painting, & it's process....

Above,  is the color study, I was thinking, lime greens, purples, and black...

Above is the references, and sketches on tracing paper

Below, is the final 30 in square canvas....

And.... my reasoning :) 
When I was researching "Fear", I found that snakes represent life, death, and rebirth. That a snake eating it's tail is a symbol of renewing life. According to Wikpedia, "serpent" is of Latin origin meaning, something that creeps, and it is listed as one of the most common fears. Fear, by definition, is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. I created a knot of snakes, with no beginning and no end, that the viewer would react to the "creepy" element of the snakes themselves, but also think about what the snakes represent that we fear as well: life, death and intimacy