"I can and I will win through.  There is no loss or defeat which holds a final influence upon my destiny.  So long as I am breathing ... I can win.  There is always the chance to triumph.    Stand up!  Fight on!"

Wherever hope dies, fear flourishes,   and so doing hampers the spirit. Wherever hope lives, fear can not thrive,   One is never completely wrecked. Wherever hope flourishes, fear dies out,   leaving us the better equipped, the happier   and the stronger to deal with what we must. Fear depends upon thoughts to feed it; cut these off. For want of dark thoughts your fears will starve and die. You can and you will make good in life! You can and you will win through!

Spartacus ... an historical archetype of winning through against adversity beyond all reasonable hope; even if only for a brief, shining time. It would seem he still radiates something of that power, even as an inspiring spirit for this portrait. The work above is a variation of the portrayal I posted a few days ago. This image has generated more responses, both in the gallery and by mail, than any other work I have shown at Ren'. This is all the more impressive as the portrait has been viewed less than one hundred times. Motivated by this vibrant interest I returned to the original and worked on bringing through other aspects that I had seen during the development process. The strongest influence for creating this variation, however, was Lorie's (magickmedbh) statement that the question which called this persona out of the shadows of history deserved to be the title of its own portrait. The opening words are a sincere gift. May they be of some inspiration to you .. and may you win through to your own heart's dearest dreams! With warm regard, Terry