Lord Of The Canvas

A man's feet don't continue to flame well into middle and old age.

Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley has taken steps (!) to move on into a field more suited to his abilities.

Yes, he did indeed paint this with his feet. And if your bid is the highest at Sheppard's Irish Auction House, it could be yours.

Christ Church in Dublin is crumbling, as are so many ancient structures, and Mr. Flatley has created and donated a work of art to be auctioned off to the benefit of the rebuilding fund.

There aren't many Church of Ireland members left on the island to meet all the expenses of maintaining a house of worship, but the building itself is of historic importance for all the people of Ireland. Clearly, it's worth saving no matter what religion you might be practicing.

Mr. Flatley donned his dance slippers, applied paint, and proceeded to dance a number from his Celtic Tiger production. The result is an intriguing visual representation of the movements of the dance, a radically different perspective than what you've had as a member of the audience.

I suppose you could consider it a work of performance art, in that it was created during a performance.

The Irish-American dancer could craft an entire collection of such images, all by painting his dance moves. Each one will be unique, given that no other dancer has the moves of Michael Flatley, and no other artist has his unique skill either.

The Lord of the Dance has become The Lord of the Canvas. And whether you appreciate his talent for Irish dance, you must admit that his painting reflects movement and the intensity of those feet of flames.