Todd Loyal Rose, Tutu Equals Spore, oil on canvas, 6 inches by 8 inches, framed size 8 inches by 10 inches.

Artist statement: As an artist, I am trying to put my finger on the pattern of life where the intent meets the result and to shorten the timeline. This is what I attempt to depict in my work: To see the beginning, middle and end all in one glimpse. Like a revolving door or the eroding of a sand painting, life is a moment in motion.

While in school in the southwest, I often watched Navajo and Pueblo artists create sand paintings. They are beautiful, precision artistic creations made of grains of sand in the outdoors where winds will eventually blow them apart, returning the sand to the earth and erasing the artwork. I had a difficult time watching this happen in real time. I thought, “How could you watch your work disappear at the same time you are making it?” Looking back I understand that it was not the painting that was the intent but rather the moment of transition. It was the moment of creating or eroding, either way. To see this sand painting getting pulled apart was merely life in fast forward; it is the pattern of life. It is the essence also of my work.

Some say life is but a joke and, for those people, my paintings perhaps are suggestive punch lines. There is typically a depiction of a goal attempted and a goal unraveled. Often titled as plays on words and at times satirical with ridiculous undertones, my paintings include elements of nature and human desire such as vanity, lavishness, comfort, gluttony, and art itself.‘

Todd Loyal Rose graduated from Arizona State University in 1994 with a BFA in Graphic Design, including extended studies in architecture and contemporary art history. He was a commercial designer and digital illustrator in the greater bay area and now resides in Sebastopol, CA with his wonderful family and can usually be found painting out in his converted barn studio overlooking beautiful Sonoma County.