Mark Sheeky Artworks

About this painting

One of series of Anti-Valentines cards. Anti-Valentine's: a celebration of death and hatred, the exact opposite of Saint Valentine's Day. At least one root of the idea was that I've often painted Christmas Cards, but aimed to create something new, different, startling rather than the boring sort often encountered.

While watching the sci-fi comedy film 'Paul' after a few weeks of lack of artistic output due to forces beyond my control, an image of a spade (the card suit) shaped also like a skull or inkblot appeared in my mind; perhaps the Skull poster from the contemporaneous BBC television series 'Sherlock' was an influence. I paused the film and dashed up to my room, got out my some paints and began to paint. In all I painted about ten or twelve works, retaining several for a series, sometimes re-using the reverse of these sheets.

These are ideal artworks; designed to give solace to the loveless and lonely on this most curious and social of celebrations. The love from these cards is warm, for it is divine and other-wordly, extrapersonal rather than intrapersonal. An artist's love is inherently divine, for personal love is between two people but divine love is between many, as is the love an artwork radiates.