Original artwork description:

This follows on from my 'last' painting 'The Last Tree'.
It continues with the theme of The Last Tree and with the money eaters, based on the famous saying:
'When the last tree Is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realise that you cannot eat money'

Here a powerful man symbolises his greed by eating his own money. It isn't nutritious but his obsession with money has warped him. Others feed off his table, the woman uses her physical looks to be included in his power circle but still the money doesn't taste any better or make her feel happier. The pyramid is a massive all-consuming construction of man, it represents a system that is consuming finite resources on our planet and hastening the environmental catastrophe.

I've also added various stages of work in progress to the photos:

1. First is a small sketch. I already had a good idea of what I wanted (unusually) so the sketch just confirmed the general layout.

2. Then I blocked out the underpainting on the canvas.

3. Then I took a photo of stage 2 and added these details digitally, in Photoshop. I've found this a great way to work as it means I can test things out on computer allowing me to see if it works before committing in the real world. Painters don't have the luxury of an undo button!

Materials used:

Oil on canvas

Tags:

#tree #surrealism #fantasy #environment #elephant #symbolism #death #money #daniel loveday #apocalypse #carousel #gas mask #extinction #billionaire #capitalism 

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