This painting grew from a feeling of futility after the Kyoto Protocol failed to be ratified. In 1997 it was China that was unwilling to commit. I tried to show a healing force coming through. “Dr No” signifies macho gun-toting mankind. Is it possible to promote a change in the minds of the acquisitive and violent?
Today the United States is the only country that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and it later withdrew its signature. The US signed the agreement in 1998, but the Senate did not ratify it due to the Byrd–Hagel resolution. This resolution stated that the US should not sign any protocol that would: Mandate new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions forAnnex I Parties without also mandating commitments for Developing Country Parties. Result in serious harm to the US economy. Google AI.
The Kyoto Protocol was a historic step in international efforts to address global warming. It combined environmental targets with market-basedmechanisms to reduce the cost of meeting them.
As it was bound for display in a hospital, I felt that “Dr No” had some negative connotations which had to have a positive spin put on them for the hospital audience.
I tried to show a healing force coming through. “Dr No” signifies macho gun-toting mankind. Is it possible to promote a change in the minds of the acquisitive and violent? Unchecked emotions running out of control pose less of a threat without weapons. Gaining consensus on environmental issues is a problem. The men strive to find balance as the robot caretaker of the Earth is rebuked by its finite resources and Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion, in- vokes healing amethysts. If local communities collaborate for long term gain, we can thrive. The colour green is an anomaly. Either way we are stuck with it: green signifies Nature’s supremacy or green signifies irradi- ation. The nuclear low carbon answer to generating power relies upon us controlling our emotions and scrupulous planning. Art and health and the health of our world society is all mixed up. @janeostler
"The Time Eating Monster Ate My Time". 2025, oil on canvas.
The inherent sense of chaos in this image reflects the world at the time it was made. Originally satisfied with three or four colours and shapes the work was spare, constrained and elegant in its clean Minimalism. I include a homage to one of Matisse’s "Interior at Nice" paintings. Somehow though, it was not an honest depiction of my state of mind and the art work transitioned from a carefully balanced picture, where a compassionate mid-day assistant-referee impartially observed multiple vulnerable individuals, into this mad dischordant image. Reluctant but desperate to blow the whistle and bring the clashing fantasy of dishevelled chaos to an end, a normally calm demeanour is now struggling to maintain decorum. The energy to harness her self control and bring anachy to an end. The time eating monster is formed from differing ways of using time : baby-like, it is only happy when it’s mouth is filled with working, traveling, caring, sleeping, or occasionally making art.
I am now old enough to have jumped off the conveyor belt of selling my time to satisfy others but this picture is a record of how I was feeling.
"Mops, Mums & Mickey (Mme. Matisse wearing Marigolds)", 2022-2023, watercolour and collage on paper, 58.5 cm H x 76.2 cm W
In this picture I show mopping and wearing yellow Marigold gloves as a way to restore order to a cosmos out of balance, with the mop han- dles as dynamic as lazerbeams, and the mop-men coming to back-up Mme. Matisse. The grocery delivery van is arriving and Mickey Mouse is keeping our spirits up, amongst this eternal drudgery and unrelenting domesticity.
