Leda Five

Leda Five is fifth of a series that responds to the frequently used myth of Leda’s rape by Zeus disguised as a swan, a topic usually depicted with uncritical sensuality. The topic involves both a protest and pleasure in colour development resulting in unintended colour juxtapositions affects and outcomes. Leda Five reflects a need to develop the idea to larger canvases and follows a visit to Venice, encounters with many “Ledas” and a renewed interest in Venetian Red. Mindful of Yeats’s poem, the painting includes shiny blood red, suggestions of beating wings, claws and feathers.