SPIRIT Painting

This artwork is called SPIRIT. When I started this work I was not aware of the direction that it would lead me. There certainly are a large number of symbolisms incorporated in the piece and I will try to cover as much of it as I can here. Let’s start at the top of the painting which is a colorful darkness with a serpent slithering within it’s borders. The serpent looks ready to strike. Follow it’s body back to the left side of the work where a mans’ face looks out at us. To his left, just above the royal crane, is a female head. At this point I was thinking of Adam and Eve. This portion of the work is painted in a technique that I would call “scruffy pointillism.” Moving down to the rotating earth we view, what seems at first to be the continent of Africa but step back and take another look. Do you see a pig walking away from us carrying a female African Bush Baby? Her face stares back at us over his shoulder. She wears a red shirt with red shoes. The earth is surrounded by Japanese Noshi ribbons with each ribbon containing it’s own representation of our lives. The first ribbon at the top left represents mountains. The second is clouds. The third is the eye of Horus for protection. The next is a tartan ribbon and I can’t fully explain this other than to say that my ancestors are of Celtic extraction. Next are the planets. This ribbon holds Saturn, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. A royal crane heads the top of the next ribbon. Cranes are one of the oldest bird species known dating back 90 million years. They have been symbolic throughout history and in many cultures represent fortune, happiness and eternal youth. The crosses below the bird are fences which the crane ignore and simply flies over. Now we have come to ribbon number 7 and I hope you are still with me. This ribbon pays tribute to Japan for providing the Noshi inspiration. The sun is the symbol on the Japanese flag. The eighth ribbon is a nod to Georgia O’Keeffe and her painting “Sky over Clouds.” Ninth is the oceans, tenth the blue sky and lastly sunsets. The ribbons on the right are as follows, starting from the bottom; Georgia O’Keeffe starts us of followed by a ribbon contains multiple S symbols. I must admit to adding my wife’s initial into the painting. Hopefully you can assign a new value to it. The next ribbon contains multi colored flowers and it’s neighbor has jelly fish swimming effortlessly in a sea of red. Now we are back to the planets. This time it’s Mars, Uranus , Neptune, Pluto and our moon. The ribbon underneath is an infinity of dark blue. My tribute to the Noshi is next followed by another royal crane taking flight over a rainbow. The shadow crane brings us to three in the work. Three is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Seashells and pebbles are in the neighboring ribbon. Blue sky followed by sunsets complete the Noshi. The diving bird, fish, deer and land bird represent our animal kingdoms. Lastly, there is a “one cent” coin with it’s tentacles reaching out to grab hold of anything that will accept it. Is the coin our savior or foe? Only time will tell. This part of the work incorporates painting directly from the tube, mixing of the colors, colored washes and layers of Liquitex, Golden and Arteza acrylic paints have been applied to creat a textured work of art. I hope this will help you view my art with purpose. Feel free to email me with any questions. I would also be open to a serious offer. Thank you for your interest.

Painting:Acrylic on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:30 W x 22 H x 0.6 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.