Don’t Let Your Toe Slip

This painting was inspired by John Irving’s The World According to Garp. In the novel, young Walt misunderstands the warning “watch out for the undertow” as “watch out for the Under Toad,” imagining a creature lurking beneath the water, waiting to pull him under.

Walt’s later death gives the Under Toad an even more haunting meaning—a name for the unseen dangers that can lie beneath ordinary life. That image stayed with me. The connection may not be apparent to everyone looking at the painting, but it made perfect sense to me while I was painting it.

oil with cold wax medium on Cradled Board

Dimensions: 16 x 16