“What We Had, What We Did” is a profoundly impactful oil painting, serving as a stark, urgent testament to humanity’s environmental destruction. This powerful diptych is structured with deliberate, chilling symbolism: the upper half, depicting a once-pristine natural world, is painted upside down, a masterful visual metaphor for how we have literally inverted and disrupted the planet’s inherent harmony through our actions. Below this inverted Eden lies a starkly contrasting scene of industrial devastation, a wasteland of pollution and ruin.
Central to the painting’s powerful message is the horizontal line dividing these two realities, rendered in the four sacred colors of the Medicine Wheel. This vital spiritual demarcation underscores that the environmental damage transcends mere physical harm; it is a profound violation of balance, interconnectedness, and cosmic order. Through raw, expressive brushwork and a palette that transitions from vibrant, though inverted, natural beauty to harsh, toxic decay, “What We Had, What We Did” is a passionate plea for ecological conscience, reflecting deep concern for the planet’s future and the spiritual repercussions of human choices. Signed TLM.