A Snake in the Garden, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 in. / 60.96 x 76.2 cm.

A Snake in the Garden, Dylan Montanio, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 in. / 60.96 x 76.2 cm.

I was going through a divorce and sleeping on the floor of my studio when I painted this. The work deals with the stages of grief and loss, the idea of bargaining and accepting life. Snakes have long been sacred or reviled depending on the culture. A serpent of change, divinity, and progress.