Yoda copyright 2010 by Martha Putnam

Martha is an expert at capturing the soul of her animal subjects. This dog is a wise and ancient Pug who has seen many years of life flowing by and taken it all in with great aplomb. Together Martha and I operate a little art business called "Barking Dog Studios." We've been busy lately. Martha has been swamped with dog portraits and last Friday we hosted a gigantic christening party for my Miracle of Hope paintings. The party was a raging success and the paintings are now hanging in the Stanford Positive Care Clinic. I talked to a couple patients and they seemed pretty stoked. During the party I talked to the head of Stanford's Immunology Department. She urged me to paint more microscopic based medical art and gave me several suggestions. Today I am starting a painting of natural killer cells attacking a cancer cell. There is a microscopic war between the immune system and alien invaders occurring inside all our bodies day in and day out. I spent 20 years making representational animal sculptures and painting this microscopic war taps into my experience with 3 dimensional biological art. Reading about natural killer cells (NKC) enflamed my imagination. The battle between NKC and cancer cells is truly a battle between good and evil. Now I'm stoked.

Tree of Hope copyright 2010 by Dave Putnam

Images of Moses talking to the burning bush and parting the Red Sea were swirling around inside my brain when I started this painting. I fight to keep religious imagery out of my paintings. Its not easy. Our house/gallery/studio was a Catholic church for 40 years before we converted it into a residence in the 90s. The church was never properly de-sanctified. I think there is a tooth from a saint buried under the spot where I paint, this relic was supposed to have been removed but somebody in the Catholic hierarchy was sleeping at the wheel. We may have been partly to blame because we put a big aggressive American Bulldog in this area before the de-sanctification process was complete. In any case, the tooth is often in conflict with me over the subject matter of my paintings. The tooth would be happy if I painted nothing but images of the Virgin Mary or other stuff from the Bible while I'm trying to create secular midcentury modernism. Sometimes I give in because the tooth scares me a little bit. But its not all bad, Moses was a very positive guy, filled with hope, so this painting fits in with the rest of the series.

Miracle of Hope III copyright 2010 by Dave Putnam

The final painting in the series shows that the HIV protease enzymes have been 100% destroyed, a complete victory. The protease inhibiting drugs (blue dots) remain in the system, sentinels guarding against a return of the infection forever. In the first two paintings the edges of the canvass are painted black. In the final painting the edges are painted red, emphasizing the nature of the total victory. As with the first two paintings the background colors still represent the human body but in the final one they also resemble a glorious sunrise, symbolizing the dawn of a new day.

The three paintings will be displayed next to each other at the Positive Care Clinic and a plaque will be included giving an explanation similar to what I've done here in the blog

Miracle of Hope II copyright 2010 by Dave Putnam

In the second painting of the series the HIV protease enzymes (black) are being annihilated by the protease inhibiting drugs (blue). The background colors representing the human component of the team are fully engaged in wiping out the enzymes. Molecular warfare is occurring on a microscopic scale. The tide is turning in favor of the patient being treated and the impending victory is fueled not only by medical science but also the will to live, in other words by hope.

Miracle of Hope I copyright 2010 by Dave Putnam

This is the first painting in a series of three. It depicts the beginning of a battle within a single human cell between the molecules of protease inhibiting drugs (blue dots) and the molecules of HIV protease enzymes (black dots). The blue dots have just breached the cell wall and are spreading out inside the cell, engaging and destroying the black dots. The blue dots are being transported by the watery appearing colors of red and yellow, the human body working in concert with the drugs.

On Wednesday painting II goes up on this blog and Thursday painting III. You will need to look at all three in sequence to get the full effect.

Elephant Graveyard lifesize copyright 1999 by Dave Putnam

This Friday we are having an unveiling party for the Miracle of Hope paintings. I've been painting professionally for a couple years. Before that I was a sculptor for a couple decades. Elephant Graveyard is the sculpting equivalent to the Miracle of Hope paintings: both of them are more than decorative artwork, they both carry a social message. What you see here is a steel reinforced concrete facsimile of African elephant skeletons that have been poached. The skulls have had the tusks chain-sawed off. The assemblage carries an anti-poaching message and perhaps some of the folks who have seen it over the years at the New Orleans zoo will think twice about buying products made from elephant ivory or support conservation efforts in some way. While the subject matter for the Miracle of Hope paintings is radically different than Elephant Graveyard I think both carry a positive message and I had the same feeling after completing either project.

Full Court Press copyright 2010 by Dave Putnam

Here is my second attempt at depicting protease inhibiting drugs (blue dots) working to destroy the HIV protease enzyme. High contrast colors positioned next to each other make the painting pulse with energy; specifically healing energy. As the title implies, I am trying to show a massive and successful effort to annihilate the disease. A patient undergoing treatment can view this painting and use it to help him visualize the progress being made within his/her body. The title also implies teamwork, the human body and the drugs working in concert. After finishing this painting I finally had the confidence to begin the Miracle of Hope triptych. As for tapping into the works of great artists of the past, Van Gogh pioneered the idea of placing high contrast colors next to each to magnify their intensity.