Before I Sleep Sometimes, as in this night scene, the moon appears quite large -- almost more full than full. It appears to be "resting" against the landscape -- almost "part of" it. And, much as we recline in a comfortable chair, before going off to sleep, the moon here too prepares itself for its own disappearance into night. Often, I will pick personal themes for my paintings -- or even a simple activity such as this one in "Before I Sleep." Often too, there is an open ended question to much of what we do or prepare ourselves to do (in daily life). In this case, we do not know the nature of our dreams. We may never remember them. "Before I sleep" is also not limited in subject matter to states of consciousness in the literal sense (before sleep). Instead, I like to think of this as a very "open ended" comment on life and death itself. Eternal sleep is a matter we can also entertain in our daily lives. In this sense, this particular scene is a simple statement of "life" -- and all we do here on Earth before we leave. How we interpret the painting is more a question of how we interpret what we will do here and now. The concept is very broad and philosophical. Yet, it poses important questions for us in life before death. Back