This painting is from my 1958-1966 period of spiritual development. I grew up and entered the seminary during the pre-Vatican 2 period when Roman Catholicism, and many other religions, emphasized sin and damnation. Religion of that period was grim and full of admonishments. It was a religious period that focused on 'what you should not do' rather than 'what you should do'. The background of this painting is about this dark religious epoch and how it haunted me and others. The door is the escape hatch from this epoch. The door doesn't suggest where it might lead but the necessity to escape the religion of the time.
