SawRing Inspiration

Picture for a Gull-ible Sucker

1973

mixed technique 70x70x45 cm

Dedicated to Richard Bach and James Taylor

‘I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers or prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.’

Socrates

This work was inspired by Richard Bach’s novella ‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull’ in which Jonathan’s passion for flight pushes himto learn everything he can about flying. His unwillingness to conform causes him to be cast out by his flock. However, his thirst for perfection leads him to a ‘higher plane of existence’ where he meets other birds who also love to fly.

The work was originally called ‘SawRing Inspiration’. However, it did not sell until the artist added the subtitle - after his friend James Taylor remarked, ‘Looks like a picture for a gullible sucker.’ Thereupon, it sold immediately to a self-effacing purchaser.