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I had the honor of composing this mural for the Minneapolis Gay Pride Festival in 2006, on behalf of one of our local nightclubs.

The client wanted the painting to showcase the stated theme for that year’s Pride, which was "100% Pride, 0% Prejudice" (gotta luv it!!)

In keeping with that notion, I wanted to frame a number of instances throughout history, and across cultures, in which same-sex eroticism was not simply accepted, but celebrated.

The figures arranged about the aureole of the central Sun describe some of these instances. A few of these figures refer to specific events or personalities, while others are meant to convey generalities in a loose and open-ended manner.

At the client’s request, the themes have been restricted to examples of male-to-male love, with a “tip-of-the-hat” to the leather/fetish community in particular, since the venue in which this image was kept is one catering to gay leather-men.

The larger, dominant figures forming the visual axis of the piece represent the expansive Earth god at the bottom, who is locked in a triple embrace with the central Sun deity and a personified Moon at the very top. They gather up the smaller, dancing figures within their caresses.

I have several images in my gallery are detail-shots of the painting. While this may seem like an excessive number of pictures, I nevertheless wanted to capture each of the characters developed for the composition, and share them on this space.

The painting was commissioned for Pride and it’s related seasonal events during the “2006 Summer Scorcher” at the Minneapolis Eagle/Bolt nightclub.

Painter

2006 Gay Pride Mural: Blessings of my Brethren 8' x 15'
Resin Fountain 1
FlowerStudy4
FlowerStudy5
PlantStudy2
Study1
00Public 3
00Public 3a
De Colores y Las Flores 1
Public 3b
De Colores Y Las Flores 1B
Public 3c
00Public4
Vishnu
Vishnu Detail1
AquatiScope: Twirling Euglena view 1
Advert2
Advert3
BigBo
AqautiScope! 1
AqauatiScope 2
JD Rivers Sign
Vishnu Detail2
Face1
Face2
Face3
JD Rivers Sign Detail
Vishnu Detail 3
Blessings of my Brethren Detail 1
Blessings of my Brethren Detail2
Blessings of my Brethren Detail3
Blessings of my Brethren Detail4
Blessings of my Brethren Detail21
Blessings of my Brethren Detail23
Large Puppets 1 & 3
Large Puppet 2: Prince Coral 5'10" a
Large Puppet 2: the Coral Prince 5'10" b
Large Puppet 2: the Coral Prince 5'10" c
Large Puppet 3: Pearl Pox 7' a
2 Snakes and a Tree
Adishesha
Adishwari, detail from a ceiling mural.
Karimkutty, Malabar Folk Deity
Karimkutty, Malabar Folk Deity 2
Dr. Seuss Hat, Low Relief
JD Rivers Park Chair
JD Rivers Park Chair2
JD Rivers Park Chair3
JD Rivers Park Chair4
JD Rivers Park Chair5
JD Rivers Park Chair6
JD Rivers Park Chair7
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" a
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" b
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" c
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" detail 1
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" detail 2
00Public1
00Public2
Big Boar, 11' x 6' x 6' 8" detail 3
FlowerStudy1
Advert
FlowerStudy2
FlowerStudy3
PlantStudy1
Alternate Views of Resin Fountian 1
De Colores y Las Flores 2
The Peace Wheel Garden Trellis
The Fish Ladder
Flower Mantis
Shetkastone Fountain
Resin Fountain 2
Resin Fountain 2, Night View
Components of the Shetkastone Fountain
Panjuruli
Diatom 2