'Balloon Bordello'

This painting is on a 48" x 48" wood panel.  I consider this size to be large for me, as I have done very few that are as large as this.  I painted this in 2004.  The shortest explanation I can give for the inspiration of this painting is "rumors and gossip".  I wanted this piece to have a child-like quality to it, so I summoned the brilliant five-year-old inside of me, that I have at times tapped into, to help me pull off an elemental aspect to this painting.  I have had some observers of this artwork view the "balloons" as spirits, and some other observers see them as animals.  As I have said before, the interpretation comes from the eye of the viewer and the interpretations vary, sometimes greatly.