The Mystery Of Power, Nature, And Magic
Thumbnails Of The Paintings On This Page
Sapient Circus
Clowns have a sinister quality, and the people in the painting are meant to convey that feeling. The viewer is being asked to join the group. The individual who commissioned the painting asked for a clown to be the focal point.
This picture of this self-portrait was taken before the frame was completed. When finished, the frame matches the color of the wood counter in the painting.
Detail Of Frame
Detail Of Painting
About The Painting
The painting, Amaryllis, began as a one-minute gesture drawing. Adding my grandmother’s flower-patterned crochet doilies to the canvas inspired the painting’s theme. Amaryllis represents determination, beauty, and love in Greek mythology, supporting the style of the picture. In the 19th century, the flower’s common name was “Naked Lady,” as the flowers appear after the foliage has died and before the new leaves arrive in the spring. As the image took on a life of its own, it gave the theme for the frame.
The amaryllis grows naturally in South Africa in the Western Cape. All plants have developed for specific climates. Earth has taken billions of years to create the variety and mix. However, there is and always has been change. The Earth and its mantle of life are constantly in flux.
The Frame
The frame was inspired by the Victorian feeling of the painting, using parts of a walnut table. Additionally, the decoupage of floral pictures from seed catalogs covered any new wood used for framing..
Freyia The Seer
Detail Of The Painting
Detail Of The Frame
I created the Seer based on a quick sketch. The painting used torn canvas and lace as a foundation, with oil paint and glitter finishing the piece. My inspiration for the painting came from magic, prophetic dreams, and my interest in gambling, which led me to the Norse goddess Freyia. She is associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr, a form of magic that shapes the future. Freyia represents experiences beyond explanation, prophetic dreams, and otherworldly sightings. My prophetic dreams and unexplainable sightings have made me believe that we are more than just matter and energy, and each of us has a unique role to fulfill. I think that we have the choice to overcome our weaknesses and failings. Even when we feel torn and dismembered, we can still succeed and shine like stars.
I had two prophetic dreams in my life. The first was in university while completing a business degree. I went on to graduate school, returned to Montreal, and opened an Architectural Antique business.
I purchased one mansion, the cornerstone, to start the business, and a block of stone mansions provided enough inventory to start the business. I saw part of the dream when I removed a cornice from a house.
I recognized the view from the top of the house from my dream years before.
The second dream gave me a message that I would get a clear sign when I should move. Years later, living in Nova Scotia, I remembered the dream, saw that it was a situation that had been in a dream, and knew the path I needed to take. It was a smooth transition to selling my business and moving back to Florida.
I shared the dreams with my wife when I had them, so someone else saw the events unfold as predicted.
There is something more than matter and energy in the universe. We can make our own lives, but we have guideposts along the way, and our actions are always our choice.
The painting of The Seer represents my belief in life, soul, and God in the universe.
Hildegard's Migraine
Hildegard’s Migraine ,24″x24″ plus frame. Oil and mixed media on canvas over wood
This painting developed from a gesture drawing resembling a woman with a splitting migraine. It was painted in oil on a linen-covered board with lace and glitter.
The Frame
The decoupage on the frame, made from paper depicting medieval paintings of saints and antiqued, gave the painting a sense of age and depth. This painting developed from a gesture drawing. I felt it resembled a woman with a splitting migraine. It was painted in oil on a linen-covered board with lace and glitter.
Hildegard's History
Hildegard von Bingen took life in my painting. It was her genius in writing music and drawing, plus the fact that she had migraines and drew the images she saw in her mind that came to mind.
Hildegard, born in the 11th century, did drawings of her visions, and she believed these visions were her direct communication with God. This action was taboo. Only a pope could have the privilege of communicating directly with God. However, the Pope overlooked her “transgression” because her purity and skills were well known..
Hildegard's Skills
She composed music still played today and drew and painted exceptionally well. Her picture of the “Universal man” predates Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man for over 300 years. It looks like the inspiration for his image. She also built two convents. This power was when women had little power in the church. She influenced the Pope to believe that dispensations bought by the rich were not correct Christian behavior. A feat few people ever accomplished.
Hildegard’s drawings predate Leoardo’ by 300 years
Trees That Rain
Florida winters are dry; months without significant rain are not unusual. Yet nights can be foggy and misty. It was this type of evening I thought I heard rain the first foggy night I was in my studio. The studio did not have windows, just plastic sheets that could dropped down to keep the heat in and the rain out. The noise of dripping water outside was easily audible. I stepped outside to see the rain. But it was not raining. The sound came from the tall Slash pines ( Pinus Elliottii) dripping water from their needles. This pine has long needles. The needles bend down toward the earth. The mist was condensing on the needles and dripping to the ground.
The pines get this water by sending their roots to the soil’s surface. These roots grow into the leaf litter and catch these drops before the water evaporates. The trees self-water.
As a side note, a tree from Australia is called an Australian pine in the U.S.- but not a pine, but a Casuarina equisetifolia. This tree has similar long needles and root structures. It does very well in Florida.
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