Tricolore in Stripes

16 in x 24 in

6/2026

“Tricolore in Stripes” is an interpretation of the Italian Flag.  I painted it soon after returning from a trip to Italy where my wife and I explored three regions- Umbria, Abruzzo and Lazio.  I visited the area in Abruzzo where my paternal grandfather was born and raised (Civitella Messer Raimondo and Fara San Martino), and the charm and rugged beauty of those towns re-awakened my sense of heritage and family pride.  “Tricolore” is what the Italian flag is commonly referred to (“three colors”), and I used many different shades of green, white and red to reflect diversity of country and experience.  Bands of green, white, and red are generated by dozens of vertical striations of varying widths and values for each color.

The green section feels lush and verdant, reflecting the beautiful Italian countryside that was so prevalent where we visited.  The white center, often the quietest part of a flag, is made more interesting by subtle impasto and tonal variation, and the red panel – laid down with bands of crimsons, scarlets, and carmines – evokes bloodlines, passion, and the emotional charge of belonging. My goal was to achieve a productive tension between abstraction and symbolism. As a work tied to my family heritage, the piece suggests that identity is not a single monolithic block of color but a composite of many parallel strands—stories, migrations, professions, habits—running side by side. “Tricolore in Stripes” becomes not just a reimagined flag, but a reflection on how personal and ancestral histories are structured, layered, and held together within the framework of family.