Retrospective: A survey of two decades of paintings
Trial By Fire. 1994.
Steel fencing, candel nub, plaster, acrylic, and tempera on canvas. 24”x17.5”. © WL Smith 1994. Collection of The WL Smith Revocable Living Trust.
...Trial by Fire is probably the most interesting piece. Against a coppery background, small twigs bar the small window and form a prison cell as the nub of a burnt candle drips wax down the face of the work. I'm always happy to see some good paeans to Joan of Arc. 
Rebecca Schoenkopf, The O.C. Weekly
Trial by Fire is as grim as a life sentence in a forgotten dungeon. Colored the brown of rain-soaked rock, the painting encloses an extinguished candle behind a rusted fence. Little drips of wax dribble from the cell, lending an element of pathos to this metaphor for resignation. Lisa Buck, The Downtown Gazette
