Rebirth Of Ideas; (close detail); acrylics on tile.

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The space that I can call mine.. is so small that my ideas have become small. I am like a caterpillar in a cocoon of paper; all around me are sketches for sculptures, small drawings that seem like moths fluttering against the windows, beating their wings to escape from this tiny space.. Every day the ideas come more reluctantly, as though they know I will starve them and stunt their growth.”

Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife)

Rebirth Of Ideas; 11- 3/4″ x 11- 3/4″; acrylics on tile. Contact Ascender to purchase.

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You can’t give your heart to a wild thing; the more you do, the stronger they get.
Until they’re strong enough to run into the woods.
Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky.
That’s how you’ll end up…. If you let yourself love a wild thing.
You’ll end up looking at the sky.

Truman Capote

“you mustn’t give your heart to a wild thing” – I love those search terms that brought someone to my blog. (Still chuckling that Jeana Marie’s comment that ‘untidy living room’ are terms that sometime brings people to her blog. She neglected to say tha ‘lovely, stirring, caressing, fastening, unfastening, sewing, waving. ‘ are also terms that bring people to her blog.)

Detail of Rhapsody In Plume. (I am trying to get a photograph to show the shine of Iridescent and Interference Acrylics used)

ArtSnark mentioned yesterday that my Rhapsody In Plume reminded her of Charles Burchfield work; an artist I had not heard of. So I set out to find out more. I can kind of see what she is saying…

According to Burchfield’s friend and colleague Edward Hopper, “The work of Charles Burchfield is most decidedly founded, not on art, but on life, and the life that he knows and loves best.”

His work is usually divided into three periods: typically insects and frogs (Insect Chorus) and abstractions depicting moods – frequently morbid and fearful (Blue Dome of June). Cicada sounds are depicted with zigzag strokes radiating outward, and flowers and houses seem to have faces, not always pleasant. (Sultry Moon)

Determined to record all the area’s flowering plants one spring, he stayed up late at night painting whole bouquets of the blooms and had a bout of what was referred to at the time as “brain fever,” which might now be termed mania. (A Sea of Queen Anne’s Lace)

In his middle period, from 1919 until 1943, he depicted small-town and industrial scenes. (Saturday Afternoon). These large paintings have a solid look unusual in watercolors, resembling oil paintings, and they are the works most often seen in art history texts. (Lilacs) (Landscape with Gray Clouds) One critic commented that Burchfield was “Edward Hopper on a rainy day.” (House and Trees in the Snow)

In his late period, from 1943 on, possibly facing a psychological crisis as he turned fifty years old, he returned to the preoccupations of the early work, incorporating the painting skills he had mastered during his middle period – which he eventually saw as a “diversion” from his true path, and developed large, hallucinatory renditions of nature captured in swirling strokes, heightened colors and exaggerated forms. (Gateway to September) (Heatwaves In A Swamp) (The Four Seasons)

In his writings he expressed an aim to depict an earlier era in the history of human consciousness when man saw gods and spirits in natural objects and forces. Was he materializing a muse?

Rhapsody In Plume; Acrylic on Canvas. Contact Ascender for availability.

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The dream was always running ahead of me. to catch up,
to live for a moment in unison, was the miracle.

Anaïs Nin

I continue reading Memory and Dream, the novel I mentioned the other day… I have been thinking a lot about it. It speaks provides a great deal of insight into both the creative process and the student/teacher relationship. The artist begins to discover an ability to bring faerie creatures to life through her paintings. These creatures “cross over” from “the before” to take up real lives in Isabelle’s world.

What if?… Would I be responsible for this shape-shifting peacock? Would it follow me around, slipping in and out of the wallpaper?

To see a peacock in your dream, represents spring, birth, new growth, longevity, and love. It is a good omen, signaling prestige, success and contentment in your relationship and career.

In Greco-Roman mythology the Peacock is identified with Hera (Juno) who created the Peacock from Argus whose hundred eyes (seen on the tail feathers of the Peacock) symbolize the vault of heaven and the “eyes” of the stars.

In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.

Similar to Lakshmi, the Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution.

In Babylonia and Persia the Peacock is seen as a guardian to royalty, and is often seen in engravings upon the thrones of royalty.

… Themes of renewal are also linked to alchemical traditions to, as many schools of thought compare the resurrecting phoenix to the modern-day Peacock.

Contemplate the powers of the Peacock when you need more vibrancy and vitality in your experience. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith…

Ancestral Hall; Acrylic on Stone; 12″ x 12″

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HELPED are those who love all the colors of all the human beings, as they love all the colors of the animals and plants; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.

Alice Walker

My most recent painting is inspired by layers of peeling wallpaper – the project’s aim is to highlight the beauty of the aging material by transforming a surface destroyed by time and usage into another form. Painting peeling wallpaper; not as easy as you would think…