The painting in pastel entitled “Pandora” was presented to me in a vivid dream. The dream was a single image and so strong I determined to paint it. It seemed like a responsibility to me at the time. Pandora had her hands pressed against glass in the dream. I realize that to accomplish that effect, a great deal of detail would have to be accomplished. Her calloused hands and coloration would be needed to produce the effect I wanted.
I presented the idea to a model who posed for photographs. Then I drew the image on a large board freehand, making certain the hands appeared to be pressed against glass. Pastels must have a pane of glass covering them for protection. 
The effect I hoped for was trompe l’oeil, the French term for “deceiving the eye”. The idea was to make the pastel more realistic once the glass covered the painting. Photographs of the painting do not reproduce the effect of seeing the painting with your own reflection in the glass. 
The Legend of Pandora is a Greek story about the first woman.  She was given a box containing the troubles of the world and told not to open it. But she did, and all the troubles escaped before she could close the box trapping “Hope” inside.
Allegorically speaking, the viewer is invited to view the painting in one of two ways. They can imagine themselves inside the box as “Hope” and seeing the distressed expression on the face of Pandora, imploring her to release them. It is the dilemma that many of us feel today.
Alternatively, the modern person may look at the painting as the plight of women who are objectified and put in a glass box. The viewer is outside the box seeing her distressed expression for being blamed for all the troubles of the world. This interpretation echoes the story of Eve in the Christian tradition. Both stories reflect a paternalistic society which is seemingly without shame.
I entered the painting in two Multimedia national shows winning the top award in both the Knickerbocker show in New York City and the American Realism competition in Parkersburg WV. 
Prints will be available on my Fine Art America print on demand store. The digital image is quite detailed and can reproduce without pixelation up to its original size of 30x34 inches. When covered with glass the effect I described should be discernible.