Family tragedy inspired Leucadia artist's 'Curtains' series
By Jeff Pack

Throughout the centuries, expressing the idea of life and death has been a popular subject for artists.

For Leucadia artist Scott Saw, the subject was unhappily forced upon him when his sister-in-law, Shellie, died unexpectedly while traveling abroad in Italy nine months ago.

"For several months I was acting as support for my family," said Saw. "We all felt very cheated. Hers was a life that didn't have the chance to reach fruition. I had all this crazy energy inside of me and began to paint."

The results of Saw's attempt to escape his grief became a collection of paintings titled "Curtains, the Wonder of Life and the Mystery of Death."

"The entire collection just sort of poured out of me," he said. "I didn't paint these in any particular order. I hadn't planned to create a collection or anything of the sort. About 15 paintings in, I realized I wanted to put them into a more linear fashion. It became something deeper.

"In the past I've always been extremely shy about releasing my art into the public eye. In this case, I'm not, because I think this time I've really tapped into something true." (continued below) ...



The collection ---- on exhibit at Planet Rooth Studios in San Diego ---- is an admittedly more mature body of work for Saw. Tinted in rich, earth-toned colors and thoroughly layered, the paintings depict the cycles of life and death in a darkly playful fashion. Most of the pieces attempt to show life and death in a sort of outdoor theater fashion, complete with curtains framing each scene. Otherworldly and earthly (Tim Burton-esque) creatures play out the stages of life and death with abundant symbolism. Saw's affection for the artistic style associated with Mexico's Day of the Dead is a strong influence in the imagery in the "Curtains" series.

Saw's father, Jim, taught art at Palomar College for 30 years and Saw credits his father's influence in shaping his career.

"I learned the element of design early on. I basically grew up watching my father create art on canvas," Saw said. "I think this ('Curtains') is my most mature work yet. In fact, this is the first collection that my father really likes. At least he admits to liking it."

Saw makes his living as a graphic designer and illustrator as owner of Sawblade Designs. Though he has exhibited his paintings in galleries, he has recently turned his attention to creating more collections of original fine art.

"I have been getting really serious about private gallery shows," he said. "I'm giving a three-person show in New Mexico in the near future and have some others coming up in the near future. I just want to continue progressing in my work and produce more works that mesh together. I hope to create more collections that can be worked into book form. I really enjoyed this process."

In conjunction with an exhibit, Saw has also self-published a book of the 27 paintings in the collection. His friend and fellow artist David J., a member of the rock bands Bauhaus/Love and Rockets, wrote the forward to the book.

More information about "Curtains, the Wonder of Life and the Mystery of Death," both the book and collection, can be found online at www.scottsaw.com