The River to Heaven Painting

The River to Heaven. I was reading Robert Aitken’s book, The River to Heaven, on his interpretation of many of the great Zen Poetry masters’ poems - Basho, Issa. To me, although he is a great master of American Zen and responsible, at least in part, for Zen’s introduction to the West - I found his interpretations that of an elder statesman whose creative and mental faculties have withered a bit. And everyone knew it, but allowed him the honor of writing his book. I painted this piece in homage to the beauty in that. A brilliant man, had he written this book twenty years, even five years earlier, it would have been strong, flowing, and more poignant. But that’s not the point. In Zen, it’s the paradox and the understanding that matters, and there lies the beauty. Aiken could have drawn stick figures with dialogue circles. His effort and love for the poems and for Zen were all that was needed. My painting is how I see that river, with Robert Aitken walking on it to what mystery follows human life. My paintings are abstract works in acrylic that dig deep into emotion, mood, depth of feeling, spirit, and the transformative power of magical thinking. Using meaningful color, distinctive paint textures, spontaneous abstract composition - with my own painting technique - I strive to create dreamy snapshots of metaphorical moments in the natural, nonphysical, mystical and spiritual worlds. I love expressing spacious concepts to gentle ideas visually in a small space. I create what I call “Visual Poetry.”

Painting:Acrylic on Cardboard

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:5 W x 7 H x 0 D in

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