11/2021 r/AmItheAsshole is a mixed media work of blood, sweat and tears.  It did not come easily and I had to fight all the way.   It grew out of a time of home quarantine.  

 

Like everyone else, I was stunned by the media imagery of a Sydney anti-lockdown protester punching a horse.  Judgements erupted all over the media. The man himself said that he was an aminal lover.  I don't want to pontificate so my personal view doesn't matter, but it did remind me of the Reddit thread where people write in with their personal dilemmas.  "I punched a horse in the head. Am I the Asshole?"

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The amount of mixed media in this work grew out of its home quarantine origin. Pencil, for sketching, then I started throwing paint on the canvas.   Becoming more experimental, I doused the canvas in good red wine.  Why?  Lockdown delirium? Then, I started stitching the horse's head.  Of course, I decided to stitch in orange (who knows why?).  I didn't have any orange thread and couldn't leave the house, so I had my lovely neighbour leave some in the letterbox.  I later painted the thread white, so it really made no difference!  Then, I painted in acrylic.  Then, of course (again, being in lockdown and unable to leave the house and being without the right colours of acrylic paint) I painted over the acrylic in oils.

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This painting is an ode to pop art, with its clever graphics, social commentary and tongue-in-cheek humour.