Heart of Darkness copyright Dave Putnam 36'' by 48''

This painting reflects recent events in the Afghan war, specifically: NATO's top general McChrystal recently said that the looming Battle of Kandahar will be delayed for a long time. Probably because the Taliban is increasingly finding success attacking NATO's long and tenous supply lines. Most supplies come through NATO's huge Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. Over the weekend that country's low level civil war exploded into something much bigger, further threatening NATO supply lines, delaying the offensive even longer, and maybe even spreading the war into a new country. What all this means is that the Afghan war is going to last much longer than the American public expects, certainly for years probably for decades. The center of the violence currently is Afghanistan's Helmand province. US Marines call this region the heart of darkness. The painting Heart of Darkness tries to capture the crushing despair and depression of a seemingly endless war. Abstract expressionism should capture both positive and negative emotions, yin and yang, good and evil.