Exploring the past to know the present

horses on Chauvet Cave wall

I have been keeping myself busy in my studio making needle felted sculptures for the Madison County Historical Society Craft Days in September and for FaerieCon in November, so the blog has been quieter than I like.  However, last night, during a bought of insomnia, I used my time to consider the role myth plays in my art and decided to share some preliminary thoughts on the subject here.  I believe, as I explore this subject further, that I'll have much more to share.  Here's the start...

On my birthday I saw the film Cave of Forgotten dreams, a documentary by Werner Herzog. The director was where he was granted limited access to Chauvet Cave in France that holds in it the oldest cave art ever found, some work dating back 30,000 years! The film was absolutely amazing and really got my mind spinning and creative juices flowing.

Much of my art is inspired by ancient myth, as well as nature. The artwork in the caves were spectacular examples of nature mythified. There was great power in the representations of charging horses and cave lions circling a chamber where a bison-woman drawn on a stalactite suspended in the center of the space. Even in the medium of film, I could sense the intense sacredness and power of such a place.  The artwork was created over thousands of years, early man used the cave and it was used several thousand years later by later humans.  The span of time involved is dizzying to comprehend.  In the midst of the artwork was evidence of the cave being used by cave bear, wolves and other animals, which, to me, united the connection of the artwork to the natural world.

pride of lions on Chauvet Cave wall

When I explore myth through my art, I am always searching for where it intersects with nature. I ask, how can I explore ancient myths in a way that makes them relevant to us now? I could follow the stories as they have been told and retold over centuries, but this doesn't interest me. It has been done and I doubt we truly can know the truths that gave rise to the myths.  Most everything is speculation now, because our lives are so vastly different to those who lived with the myths. Our world has changed since then, our relationships to nature has changed. While the psychological processes may still be relevant, how we can tap into those processes may be different now.

However, after watching this documentary, I suspect the change has not been too tremendous. I can look at the cave art and feel an inner transformation struggling to take place. This art wants to take you somewhere, it wants to help the viewer transcend. The question might be to what? The early humans might have wanted one to transform to a hunter, or unite with nature in some way.  Or, maybe it is a completely different kind of transformation that we have yet to consider.  It may seem like some kind of hocus pocus, fantasy thinking, but in the film, it is clear that even the scientists who studied the cave felt this. One scientist found his whole life change as a result of this time in the cave, redirecting his life to one that incorporated more stillness and involvement with nature.  That is quite a transformation!

Joseph Campbell has said that modern living myth can only be created by the artists and writers of today. We are living in a very soulless time, for we have no living myths to build our lives around. We, as a society, have no sacred rituals that guide us through life's transitions. We are just thrust unto the world and with a pat on the back (if we're lucky), we are left to fend for ourselves. "May the best man or woman win!" seems to be the prevailing attitude.  It may seem that some fare better than others, but I think we all suffer together as a result of the lack of the sacred and of ritual.

How does one make modern myth? I am not sure, honestly.  Our world is changing so fast now that having any kind of perspective is nearly impossible. Campbell looked to outer space as our new frontier, the new dark forest that hides our fears and our potential. However, access to space seems ever more difficult to reach with the ending of the shuttle program. We are left to stare upward through lenses and computers and speculate ever more.

For me, looking back to ancient myth is a starting point. Ancient Irish myths have always fascinated me with their Neolithic structures and symbols. They too looked to space for guidance, what they gleaned from their observations is unclear, but what is clear is that they were very aware of the patterns and cycles of the heavens. So few of us even pay attention to the stars above, and those that do, must gaze through a haze of pollution that blocks out most of what the ancients saw.

Now, the paleolithic is calling to me, pulling me further back in time, where even less is known. What truths can I discover that might inform our lives today and into tomorrow? The stories are lost to us, yet somehow the energy remains. Might I find a way to channel truths this way? Or will what I "discover" just be my own stories superimposed. Can truth be channeled through energy patterns, like digital information is sent over the wireless airwaves?

This is what I am exploring through my art now.  Ancient truths, explored in a modern context.  Perhaps it is good that I cannot really know the actual stories from the ancient myths, perhaps it will allow me to be open to what the universe can teach (whether that universe is the cosmos or the inner worlds).  Will my art contribute to the future of a living mythic tradition?  I am not sure I have the hubris to allow myself to think so, but perhaps it will become part of the fabric, a thread, of a much larger and greater mythic structure that is yet to evolve.  Time will tell...

DoAn
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Here Comes the Sun

"Raven Steals the Sun" watercolor & ink

As the wheel of the year turns to spring, we see the day lengthen and sun fills the sky.  Here is a story about the arrival of the sun compiled from many of the cultures in the northern latitudes:

Long ago, at the beginning of the world, Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water and of fire. Eagle hated humans so much that he kept these things hidden so humans had to live in darkness, without fire, fresh water or light. Raven did not like stumbling about in the darkness, so he came up with a plan. Eagle had a daughter and Raven being a handsome snow-white bird, pleased Eagle's daughter so that she invited him to her father's home. She hoped Raven would ask to marry her. While at Eagle's house, Raven found the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water inside a box. He waited for his chance to slip the box beneath his feathers when no one was looking. Then he took a brand of fire and flew out of the house. As soon as Raven got outside he placed the Sun in the sky. When the Sun set, he hung the Moon up in the sky and spread the stars around. He flew back over the land and dropped the water he had stolen, forming streams and lakes in the world. Raven continued to fly, holding the brand of fire in his beak. The smoke from the fire turned his white feathers black. Finally, when the firebrand began to burn his beak he had to drop it. The fire struck the rocks below and hid itself within them. That is why, when two stones are struck together, sparks of fire will fly out. Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke. That is why Raven is now a black bird. 

The painting pictured here is currently available as prints. The original painting is being made into a box, not quite big enough to fit the sun, and I will post it here once it is constructed.

Click here to view print  & greeting card options

Like myths about Raven? Listen to this story Raven and the Winding River on BirdNote.

Happy Spring!

DoAn

Help in the creation of art, please consider donating! 
Just click on the link below:
 
DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.  
 
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All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Walking the Spiral: The Morrigan

The Morrigan: The Dark Mother

I recently listened to the audiobook The Creative Fire by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, in which she discusses the cycle of creativity.

Most people think of the artist as being moved by flashes of inspiration or asking for a blessing by the muse.  Estes explains that creativity moves in a continuing pattern of rising and falling.  This has been my experience of creativity.

After I completed the painting "Boann: transformation of a goddess" I felt I had reached a zenith.  I felt inspired by this new insight into my artwork and I felt wiser and more aware as a result as well.  It wasn't long before I felt a slow decline from this highpoint.  My creative work slowed. While I felt more connected to the spirit of the work than ever, my connection to the act of painting felt strained.  Suddenly, that light of inspiration grew dim.

The Morrigan is a dark figure in Irish Myth, probably even predating the arrival of the Celts in Ireland.  She was a goddess of fertility, the controller of death itself, and later became associated with war.  How could a fertility goddess be connected to death?  It seemed strange to me at first. But it doesn't take much introspection to realize how growth is preceded by death and decay.  Land is made fertile by the decayed plants and animals that enrich the soil.  A fertile mind is enriched by the knowledge absorbed. A fertile body is nourished by the breaking down of nutrient-rich foods taken in.

The creative process is likewise nourished by a period of decline, a period of darkness that is the opposite of that outward expression of the flash of inspiration.  Without this period of quiet, without this symbolic death, the creative expression loses fertility and richness.  Estes uses the Demeter/Persephone myth from the Ancient Greeks as an excellent metaphor for the creative cycle, even making astute distinctions between the way the myth differed in Pre-Helenistic and Post-Helenistic Greece.

This analysis of the creative cycle can be used by artist and non-artist alike.  For we all go through a period of darkness in varying levels throughout our lives.  From waking at daybreak, after having slept in the dark of night, to the coming of spring after the death of Fall and Winter's sleep, to the ups and downs of any one of life's situations.  "The Morrigan: The Dark Mother" taught me that there is a huge difference in outcome when one embraces the coming dark, rather than fearing it and trying to push it away.  No matter what, the dark times will come; we have no choice.  But we can choose how to move through the dark times.  We can enter with awareness and grace, coming out of the experience like the spring sprouts bursting from seeds planted in the fall, with determination and filled with the joy of creation itself.

DoAn
Help in the creation of art, please consider donating! Just click on the link below:
 
DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.  
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All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Brigid: Igniting the Inner Fire

Brigid, whose name means “fiery arrow”, was beloved of the Irish Celts, and survived Christian conversion by becoming a Catholic Saint who is still revered to this day.  For the ancient Irish, Brigid was the goddess of all things lofty and elevated, such as high rising flames, upland areas, wisdom, perfection, intelligence, creativity, poetic eloquence, blacksmithing, healing, mystical knowledge, and warfare.  She was the daughter of the Father god, the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.  Some stories suggest that her mother was The Morrigan, the dark goddess, and with her birth she brought light from the void.


She was considered a solar goddess, and stories of her birth recount her rising from the earth into the sky along with the rising sun with rays of light emanating from her head. With every step she took flowers sprouted and birds sang and soared in the air.  Though she was associated with the sun, it was not the physical sun she represented, but the healing energy associated with it.  Snakes are sacred to Brigid, symbolizing  regeneration and the rising of the kundalini energy that exists and rising within each of us when we are healthy and balanced.

The blackberry is sacred to Brigid, and serves to symbolize her strong protective nature with its defensive thorns, and arching, tangled canes, as well as her healing nature by providing nourishing berries and herbal healing remedies.

Throughout Ireland, one can find shrines built over or near natural springs where people go to pray and receive her healing energy through her sacred waters. 

Imbolc was a significant holiday associated with Brigid.  In the ancient times this was a time to acknowledge that spring was not so far away, despite the tight grip winter still had over the land.  For the ancient Gaels, this time of year was particularly harsh.  It was considered the dead month.  But, despite the harsh winds and icy rain that fell, signs of spring could be found.  Ewes began to lactate, Cows gave birth, Ravens started to build nests, and green buds started to appear on branches and poke through the dirt.

Imbolc was important because it fell on an in-between time, a very powerful and sacred time for the Celts.  Brigid, if properly respected, brought the warmth of the sun, the flame of spring, healed the dead-time, and brought words to the poet’s lips.  Her miraculous powers could change water into ale and stone into salt. With boundless generosity she fed birds, animals, and the poor, and they all loved her in return.

Rabbits and Hares were also ancient symbols of spring.  The hare was an emissary of the Otherworld and a symbol of the in-between time, which made Imbolc a such a sacred time.  It is also the time of year that the footprints of rabbits and hares can be seen in the snow, as they search out the tender green shoots to eat and court their mates.  The snowshoe hare, with its ability to change its coat through the seasons, symbolizes the creativity embodied by Brigid. 

In modern time, Brigid can teach us to look bravely into the darkness and bear witness to the growing light.  It is a time of renewal, of re-affirming those resolutions we took at the beginning of the year to better ourselves. Now is the time to understand that no matter how difficult and dark things may appear to be, it will pass, for in order for darkness to exist light must exist as well. 

She asks us to apply creativity to our lives, to live with passion and in accord with our spirit.  A life that is full of passion, creative and healthy is blessed and burns with Brigid’s fire.

Brigid’s fire is the spark of life.

DoAn


Prints and Greeting Cards are now available at my Print on Demand page: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-brigid-doan-art.html

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of DoAn Art may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Season's Greeting

Happy Winter Solstice

It is a time of celebration!

While the nights begin to shorten, the days grow longer.  It is time to gather for the winter solstice and honor the rising of the sun through the guises of the many different holiday traditions.

I wish everyone a very happy holiday!  May health, happiness, and light shine down upon you and those close to you.

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of DoAn Art may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

A Gathering of Crows: solo show

I just hung a new show of paintings and drawings that I completed at the Vermont Studio Center residency. The show is called A Gathering of Crows and celebrates the crow both in myth and nature.

The piece pictured here is called Crow's Fall (30 x 40", acrylic on canvas) Many cultures around the world have stories about how the crow became black. The title of the painting comes from the poem Crow's Fall by Ted Hughes.

The artwork is currently hanging at the Sherrill-Kenwood Free Library, 543 Sherrill Rd, Sherrill, NY 13461.




A Gathering of Crows
One crow for sorrow,
Two crows for joy,
Three crows for a girl,
Four crows for a boy,
Five crows for silver,
Six crows for gold,
Seven crows for a secret never to be told;
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a time of joyous bliss.

If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by and visit the crows!

DoAn
(Moon Phase: first quarter)
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.  
 
All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Defining My Mission

One of the benefits of being at a painting residency, besides having ample time to work on my art, is that I have the freedom from distractions to ponder on why I paint what I paint. Of course, I had a general idea already, but I never really tried to articulate a coherent reason for what I do. This first week at the residency got me really thinking about my art and why I do it.

I have had a long history with art, starting out as a child. I was fascinated with animals and nature. I remember as an adolescent spending days and days of my summer exploring the outdoors and painting watercolors of birds and animals. Writing also started to interest me then and I wrote and illustrated stories about animals and fantasy worlds that curious children could access through strange means: like a hole in the ground, a secret door in an attic or through a hidden cave.

My undergraduate and graduate years ended up being devoted to writing. As a philosophy major I found myself interested in the idea of writing moral fiction. I started graduate school with the goal that I would write fiction focusing on issues of morality. I wanted to write fiction that taught lessons and contributed something beneficial to society. This led me to fairy tale literature and to the fascinating world of cultural history, subversion of authority, oppression, gender issues and mythology.

Midway through graduate school the need to paint resurfaced. This need has grown more insistent with each passing year. Writing still has a place in my life, but it holds second place to visual art. Writing often holds a framework for my art, but visual art is true expression for me.

I feel like I have come nearly full circle in relation to my art. I started out fascinated by nature and drawing birds and animals. I was curious about exploring other worlds, those secret worlds that were often just out of reach from the world we knew. Then I went off in other directions for a while exploring other traditions or forms of art like fashion design, sewing, ceramics, jewelry making, digital art, and Asian brush art, to name a few. Only to return again to nature and my curiosity of exploring other worlds.

In Buddhism there was a teaching that said when you start out you see that a Mountain is a Mountain, then you observe that a Mountain is not a Mountain, but in the end you learn that a Mountain is a Mountain again. I have returned to artwork about nature, but it is through a different way of seeing and being in the world.

Myth has become an important influence, as is the current situation with human society and the natural world. I believe reconnecting both to myth and the cycles and rhythms of the natural world are keys to a healthy society and planet. Understanding that there are realms of being that are beyond our collectively accepted reality is also important for our well-being. I think having lost touch with this knowledge has left us wandering around in the dark, clumsily destroying nearly everything in our path, fumbling in search of a light with which to see again.

I understand the purpose of my art is to explore myth and nature and the interplay of the two. I hope to revitalize myth and create an interest in a renewed relationship to myth and the natural world. Through the use of research, observation, vision-work and meditation I create my art. I am not interested in illustrating myth, nor do I want to simply replicate or attempt to restore the myth to some non-existent original. Rather I try to connect to the living essence of a myth and paint from that source.

I don’t believe that there is a true original version of a particular mythic archetype. I think that a myth forms and evolves from archetypal matrices, which are then built and constructed with symbols of a particular culture and the natural world. I find most “restored” myths empty and drained of life. A true enlivening of a myth comes from tapping into the universal source and is ignited by imagination and fueled by symbolism.

I focus primarily on Celtic and pre-Celtic mythology, mainly due to an ancestral connection, but I believe I will eventually explore myths of other cultures in my work. When I work on a piece, I meditate on or follow a vision influenced by a particular mythic figure for symbol. I often use a natural object like a rock, tree, ripples on water, rust on metal, etc. as a vehicle to tap into the energy or consciousness related to the myth.

The first result is usually an abstract piece--which reflects energy over form. Often the myth still speaks strongly to me, so I develop another piece focusing more on symbolism, (personal, cultural and universal symbols) this work is usually more representational.

As my art continues to develop, I hope that my skills and ability will be sufficient to share my discoveries of the world of myth and teach of the necessities of a balanced relationship with nature. I believe ultimately that the artist’s role is to provide a service, to guide and to teach something about the world we live in or could be living in. That is my hope and wish for the art that I bring into the world.

DoAn

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Vermont Studio Center Residency: Day 1

Well, I made the long trip up to the mountains of Vermont without incident. The first day was devoted to settling in, feeling out my space and establishing a routine.

My cell phone does not work up here and my access to the Internet is quite limited, but I am actually enjoying the escape from constant connectivity. My room is sparsely furnished with a bed, desk and sitting chair. I spend the day working in my studio and the evenings reading, doing some reflective writing, and knitting. I am reading books about myth and art's role in myth making. It is great food for my painting! One of the books I am reading is When they Severed Earth From Sky by Barber & Barber. It has already gotten the wheels in my brain turning, I am sure I will have some work and thoughts to share as a result from reading the book.

Here is a picture of my studio space all set up and ready for new work to be made in. I will share my experiences and thoughts while here over the next four weeks, so check back periodically if you don't subscribe to my blog.

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 

All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

The Spiral and a New Logo

Some of you may have noticed that the DoAn Art logo recently changed. Over the last two years I have seen my art develop and evolve in a direction that was less rooted in Asian traditions as it used to be. Traditional Asian painting techniques will still be a big influence in my art, however, I wanted to open my work up to a more universal source, rather than be tied to one particular culture. I meditated for some time on what symbol would best represent my work and it wasn’t long before the spiral appeared in my mind’s eye. I immediately knew it was the right symbol for my logo. But it did take some teasing and study to get that image out of my mind and into the shape of a logo.

I learned that the spiral is a powerful symbol, long held in high regard by nearly every culture on earth. The Romans and Greeks used spirals to decorate pottery and temple columns. The Celtic and Nordic people used the spiral to decorate jewelry, clothing, weaponry and many other objects. The megalithic peoples of Europe carved spirals into many of their stone structures. The Australian Aboriginals used coiled snakes to represent the spiral and Islamic art used the mathematical principals of the spiral.

The spiral appears in nature. Geothe noted that many plants grew in a spiraling motion and that many seeds and flower petals formed spiral patterns. The spiral can also be found in the movement of the tides and winds as well as in the growth of shells and horns.

Symbolically the spiral can represent the growing and waning influence of the sun as it moves through the cycle of the year. Or it can represent the cycles of life and the rhythm of coming and passing, such as in the seasons, or of life and death itself. By the curving path of the lines, the spiral links outside to inside, space and spacelessness, time and eternity, material and spirit. I have even used the spiral in my own artwork. If you look at my last painting The Honeybee, I centered the thorax of each bee over the path of a spiral.

As a result of my meditation and study, I decided to develop a logo utilizing the symbol of the spiral. I also made two spirals emerging from a single source, perhaps they are merging into one, or maybe it is both simultaneously. I wanted a logo that symbolized how my art comes from a common source, a universal place that we all share. It is my hope that my art will connect me to other people, to nature, and to all that makes up the world we know and don’t know. I also believe that the spiral adequately represents the patron-artist relationship, where two people work together toward one goal, unifying their energies for a common purpose. Over time, I am sure my logo will continue to develop, but for now I believe this new design best represents my art and what I hope to achieve through it.

I hope you enjoy the new design! Please take a moment to look for how the spiral informs and influences your own life!

DoAn

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

The Raven: Healing and Initiation

Recently, I have been having several dreams featuring ravens. This painting represents an image from one of those dreams. This was one of the only images that I could paint as a representational image as the rest of the dreams are very abstract. I am working on attempting a painting exploring the more abstract dream imagery.

After doing research into Raven mythology, I found I had gathered enough information to create a lifetime of paintings! There are so many wonderful stories from many many cultures dealing with the Raven. You can be sure that you will be seeing much more of the Raven from me in the future. In the meantime, here is a description of just the small bit of info that I have worked into this painting.

The Raven symbolizes the dark and difficult aspects of life, which is a part of life we often misunderstand and rarely effectively deal with. The dark aspects are not bad or evil, as it is necessary to go through a process of darkness in order to emerge in the light. Dark comes before light, healing is preceded by illness, the storm eventually transforms to calm and so on. The Raven reminds us of the need for this balance, and that without accepting the full integration of the cycle of dark and light, we cannot truly heal.

The Raven is also a messenger between two worlds: the living world and the twilit Otherworld or spirit world. By connecting these two worlds, the Raven initiates us into a new way of being. The Raven travels from this world to the next; accessing the darkest regions bringing back visions and instructions for the seeker and the healer. Often, before advancing in any spiritual growth, one must sacrifice or let go of old ways of being. The Raven gives us insight into what old patterns must die in order to make way for the new.

In this painting, the Raven flies at twilight, the time when the veil between the two worlds is at its thinnest. It flies over an ancient megalithic mound, where one can access the Otherworld. I didn't paint the Raven feathers simply black, but are actually made of layers of blues, violets and greens. I did this to symbolize that all possibilities exist within the void of darkness, just waiting to emerge. In Eastern and Celtic traditions the Raven is a solar symbol. In my dream the Raven flew beneath a full moon, which I have interpreted here as the night sun, illuminating the landscape. But, traces of the setting sun are still visible in the horizon and limning the edge of the mound and distant trees and hills.

I am by no means and authority on the Raven mythos. Feel free to interpret your own meanings, and, please share them here if you like. It is always fascinating to hear how others interpret such powerful archetypes.

DoAn

(The Raven: Healing and Initiation, 5 x 7", ink on textured clayboard)

In the Heart of the Forest

The path leads into the forest. This is the first forest, the primeval forest that existed before humans. Here is where dreams lived before they found a home in the minds of slumbering humans. Myth and fairy tale call this enormous, dark and dangerous wood home...

This is not a new piece, but it has just been added to my Fine Art America page and is available for prints.

This is the edge of the first forest. What is hidden just on the other side of those trees. Unicorns, fairies, witches, nightmares? There is only one way to find out. Take a step inside and see for yourself...

You can view print options here at my Fine Art America page.

Beag: Keeper of the Well of Wisdom (SOLD)

At last, the latest painting for the From Beyond the Ninth Wave series is completed. This one is entitled Beag: Keeper of the Well of Wisdom. The goddess Beag (pronounced: BEG), possessed a magic well, which was guarded by her three daughters. When the Irish hero Fionn Mac Cumhail came to the well to ask for a drink the daughters tried to keep him from getting the water. One of the daughters threw water over him to frighten him away, but some of the water trickled into his mouth, giving him wisdom.

This painting is comprised of A LOT of glaze work. Using only three colors (Yellow, Magenta, and Blue), I made fine washes of color over each other, sometimes adding up to 20 layers in places to create colors of depth and intensity. I washed over some of the colors with thin layers of white to create the cloudiness and veiled look to some of the colors. The reference to the painting was a part of the Orion Nebula. I used mainly the color and shapes of the nebula to inspire me, but as I worked on the painting it began to take its own shape. Perhaps Beag was imparting some wisdom upon me? Well, I will have to get back to you about that.

DoAn