Bach Flower Series: Clematis

I haven't wrote in this blog in so long I am not sure I remember how it works.  I recently started a little series loosely based on the Bach Flower remedies.  I decided that these needed a little writing to go with them to explain each remedy I do, so I am back on the ol' blog.  I plan to do as many of these as I feel drawn to do and then write about the essence here after I am done.
First I should explain what the Bach Flower remedies are. Bach flower remedies were introduced in the 1930s by Edward Bach, M.D., a British physician, who developed what he called a "theory of types" by which he divided people into seven groups based on their reactions to illness. He listed these types as fear, uncertainty, loneliness, oversensitivity, lack of interest in present circumstances, despondency, and over-concern for others. Dr. Bach believed that negative moods and emotions were responsible for the breakdown in health that leads to illness and determined that treatment had to address patients' emotional and mental states. He devised 38 wild flower essences, or remedies, for treatment for these negative moods and emotions.   The first one I completed was "Clematis".

Clematis

2013  Tammy Mae Moon

Clematis relates to the soul potential of creative idealism.  In the negative Clematis state a person tends to withdraw a lot into their own imagination.  Many creative types can use a little Clematis from time to time. Creative people tend to be people that are easily in touch with their imagination.  Sometimes though that inner world can be more attractive to us than the "real world".  We have our heads too much in the clouds and can't get grounded.  Clematis helps alleviate the spaciness and helps us bring our creativity to physical realization.  It is a good remedy to take when you are feeling creatively blocked.

I added the dragonflies in this one as a strong symbol for integrating the "Otherworld/Inner World" with our outer world.  The dragonfly inhabits two realms: air and water and teaches us how to walk in both worlds.

If you fall into the Clematis state some, you are probably a "walker between the worlds".  Try taking a little of this essence to help you stay grounded and transform all of that unused creative potential into physical form (Painting, weaving, writing, etc.).

*Most of my info on Bach Flowers has been taken from the book "Bach Flower Therapy; Theory and Practice" by Mechthild Scheffer.

"Medea" Work in Progress

I seem to have forgotten that I have a blog.  Thought I would update you all with a little work in progress I am currently working on.  It is only 12x12 inches so a fairly quick work for me.  It is Medea, the villain witch of Euripides' play.  I do love those enchantresses with a bad rep.

Here is the beginning sketch done in graphite on a Ampersand artist panel.

I plan for there to be roses and a moth surrounding her.  I think the moth will be there to symbolize death and transformation.

After I have the sketch drawn I have to seal it.  For this work I used clear gesso.  After it dried it gave the work a really nice surface that the paint and I both really loved.

The next step is deciding on an underpainting color.  Doing soft pastels for many years I discovered I really hate to start with a white surface.  Pastel paper is often toned to a color that helps to build up skin tones in the work.  I try to paint the work a color that will help me build the skin tone I am shooting for.  Lately I have been using a lot of crimson red tones to start with.  For this one I want her skin pale, almost frosty.  I decided to start with a sea green color.

You can barely see it in the pic, but it is a nice greyish sea green.  I remember reading an artist once saying that there is a lot of grey in human skin color, but our eyes just don't really register it.  Putting little hints of grey in there can help you achieve a more realistic skin tone.

Next I play with some drips and background fun.  I decide to go with two of my favorite colors here, sea green/or turquoise and yellow ochre.  Which will both look great with the red roses I add later.

Now to go at that skin tone.  I never have a set formula for skin tone.  I usually use some combo of white, yellow ochre, unbleached titanium white, some kind of pinky orange.  I basically just start slapping colors down and slowly add more or less of one or the other depending on what I want to achieve.  This happens in many layers.  Here is the first one:

She is a little too pink at this stage, but I like the transculent feel, which is what I am going for.  I am really liking the sea green shadow areas too.  Still need to work on her nose and mouth....not quite right.

This one was a bad pic...but I am laying on more skin tone, getting it closer to where I want.  I also have her nose looking better.  I started adding the roses also.

This last pic is where she is right now.  I am going to go to town on that moth and the roses now, but I am pretty happy with her face at this point, just needs a little cleaning up....and the hair needs detailed.  Should be done with her soon though.  Hope you like her.

Christmas original painting Give-Away

I have decided to give this painting away for Christmas!!!!!!

This is a 12 inch by 12 inch acrylic painting on a cradled wood panel that I painted earlier this year.  All you have to do is go to my Facebook fan page and press Like if you haven't yet.  Then go to the post with this pic of the painting and comment.  Your comment needs to be a short poem describing who this lady is.  Tell me her story in a poetic fashion.  I will pick my favorite on Sunday Dec. 18th and ship it to the winner free of charge.  I will even ship her Internationally!
I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Upcoming Events

I had a great time at the Woodland Arts Fair this past weekend.  It was a little too hot, but at least it didn't rain.  Now on to September events.

September 10th:
I will be displaying my art at Open Heat Yoga studio which is located in the Unitarian Church in Lexington.  They will be having a day of free yoga, free henna and food.  I will be be there with my art and will be drawing names for free prints.  The fun starts around 10 am, hope to see you there!

September 16th:
I will be participating in the Artist Trading Card event put on by the Lexington Art League and Citizens Create.  Over 50 artists will be trading cards at the Mayor's office during the Gallery Hop.  If you are doing the hop make sure to come by and check out the fun.

October 1st:
I will be vending at the Wee Folk Fairy Festival in Covington, KY.  It is from noon to 5p.m.  This is a really fun family event.  So put on your fairy wings and come and join in on the fun.

Woodland Arts Fair and a beautiful video.

Lexington's biggest arts fair is this weekend.  I have been a busy bee getting ready to set up my booth.  I will be in the Woodland Christian Church's lawn this weekend.  The fair runs Saturday 10 am until 6 p.m. and Sunday 11am until 5pm.
I am running a little promotion of sorts, the first 12 people to come up to me at the fair and say they heard about this on Facebook, or here on my blog, will get a free postcard print and maybe some other goodies too.  So definately make sure you come by and say hello this weekend.
Last night I saw this video for the first time and just thought it was beautiful.  I think it was pretty viral at one point so you might have already seen it, but it is worth another watch.  Lately it seems the news has been littered with things that bad men are doing.  Sometimes when I hear too much I begin to get afraid of men.  I begin to think that the world is not getting any better, that men are not learning to love.  I needed to see this video.  I need to watch it everytime I hear too much about the bad men and to remember that there are many men that are trying to be the change, to honor love, and to restore the divine masculine.

Finished "Dakini"

 

Dakini

14x18 acrylic, ink, gold leaf paint

on gessoed hardboard panel

Dakinis in bikinis...

Okay, not really dakinis in bikinis.  I just thought that would be fun to say.  Sorry I haven't wrote much in ye olde blog lately.  I usually fall into a pattern in the summer where I turn into a virtual hermit in between all the trips.  Needless to say this summer has been busy with the kids and trips, but I have managed to get some painting in here and there.
My latest obsession has been with the idea of dakinis (sometimes in bikinis I suppose). 
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'.
A dakini comes in many forms and in some ways is related to angels or thought of as bird women of sorts.  In many parts of Tibet vultures are considered physical representations of dakinis.  Vultures have been revered by many ancient cultures as they are able to transmute negative energies and disease from the physical plane.
It is believed that all women are dakinis, but most do not ever realize this.  I like that dakinis are not always pure and perfectly nice, sometimes they are scary and mean too.  They are similar to the Valkyries of Norse myth. 
I feel that dakinis are muses.  I once read where the amazing visionary artist Andrew Gonzales said that he felt like all the women he painted were his dakinis.  I really understand this, because as I paint each one of my ladies I form this mystical connection with them.  They are me in part, they are my muse, and they are dakinis.
Obviously two of my favorite subjects are birds and women, so I am planning to do a whole series of dakinis I think.  Here is some progress pics of my first dakini....

I am working on the feathers around her eyes now and really loving them.  Be prepared for lots of feathered masks in the future.  I am also giving her some wings, but not really sure how I am going to make those look yet.  I hope to have her completed soon.  I am hoping to have her done and framed for the upcoming Woodland Arts fair.  I will have a booth that weekend in the lawn of Woodland Christian Church, hope to see you there!

May Events and new wip

It's been a busy. busy Spring.  My kids were just on Spring Break and it seems I haven't gotten much done in the way of painting, which has me fearing Summer break.  I have been hard at work getting ready for May though.  I am going to be doing a few fairs starting in May.  The first one is May 1st at Seventh Street Gifts in Newport, Ky.  I will be the featured artist that day during their Spring Sundaze event.  There will be live music provided by Poke, a herbal workshop, food, and readings.  It takes place from 1-5 pm and you can read more about it at the website here.
The next weekend, May 7th-8th, I will have a booth at Mayfest in Lexington.  This will be my first official juried art fair.  I am pretty excited, but also a little stressed.  Anyone who has done a juried art fair will know there is a lot of stuff you need to have to do it.  For instance, most require you have a white canopy tent which are not cheap.  Then there is the structures to hold your art.  The cost is starting to add up, so I will be attempting to do many more of these fairs in the future to justify my expenses :).
  Thanks to my good friend Barbara Glatzeder I will have a whole bunch of pretty cameo art pendants to sell at Mayfest.  I am hopeless when it comes to making these kind of things, so she volunteered to put them together for me and ship them to me all the way from Germany.  I have been hard at work now putting together the chains and cords for them and the ones that are finished are turning out so beautifully.  Mayfest is over Mother's Day weekend, so I am hoping these will be bought for some lucky mamas.

The next weekend in May will be the opening of a group show I will a have a piece in called "Gods and Goddesses" in Richmond, VA.  It will be at an awesome little place called C'est Le Vin Wine and Art Gallery starting May 13th and running to June 5th.  The show will have work from 6 women artists and 6 men artists representing gods and goddesses from around the world.  My Lilith will be there, along with work by some other amazing artists like Helene Ruiz and Lynnette Shelley.  If you live close to Richmond try to make it out for this amazing exhibit.

Lastly, I wanted to share some other big news.  I recently signed on with Kats Magical Patches to license my work on fabric blocks.  These are fabric patches that you can sew on quilts, handbags, throw pillows, or just about anything your heart desires.  This is a new company, but she has already signed on over 60 amazing fantasy artists.  Next month she will be having a little contest amongst the artists on her Facebook fan page.  The fans will like their favorite image and one lucky fan will win a fabric block of the winning design.  Go and become a fan now to participate next month here.

And here is a little preview of the piece I am working on for this little contest.  It is Titania, the Faery Queen.

Magdalene and the red egg

This morning I am thinking of Mary Magdalene.  She comes to me at different moments in my life and when she does her presence is amazing and for me, life changing.  I have been mainly drawn to the Celtic myth for so many years now.  I have by no means covered all that I want to paint there, and yet these Gnostic yearnings come to me now and then and distract me away from the Holy Isles.
I have painted Mary before, but only her face.

I do love the emotion I captured in her face.  I always imagined it as a young Mary Magdalene meeting Yeshua for the first time.  But now I am being pulled to paint a larger work of her.  I am channeling many thoughts about the work right now and I almost feel like I need to write them down before I lose them.  Sometimes I get triggered like this and have strong impulses to create a new work but can't do it immediately and then I lose that space I was in and the thoughts that were flowing. So I thought I would share one piece with you, in an effort to preserve this energy for later.
It starts with Mary and the red egg.  Often in Eastern Orthodox icons Mary is painted holding a blood red egg.  There are a couple of legends that surround this egg, one being that after Jesus died Mary went to the Roman Caesar to tell him about the poor treatment of Jesus by the Romans and that Jesus had risen.  Mary was sitting at dinner and holding an egg in her hand and Caesar responded that Jesus could no more have risen than that egg could turn blood red.  Of course the egg immediately turned blood red.  Another story is similar but has Mary pulling off the same miracle in front of a group of Russians she was telling the tale of Jesus' resurrection to and when the egg went red it marked "The Way" being brought to Russia.
There are many symbols associated with Mary and what intrigues me is their connection to the chakras and the ascension, or the mastery of death.  I am starting with the red egg as I feel it is a strong symbol for the root chakra.  The egg is the creative potential that we hold at our root.  Red is the color of blood, of creation, of the Earth.  Out of the blackness of the womb the egg and the blood create life.  We connect with the creative energies of the Earth through our root chakras.  All possibilities lie in this energy.  By raising this energy up through the chakras to the sacred marriage chamber of the heart (the place where the goddess meets the bridegroom) we transmute the energy into Love, and from there we can conquer death.  We raise it into consciousness at the third eye, where mind, body, and soul align into one.  We take the hidden potential that lay in the egg and bring it into the light of consciousness.
I feel that in this uncertain time that we are in now, connecting with our red egg is more important than ever.  We need to be bathed in those creative energies everyday to be able to create the new reality that is called for.  Once a symbol is unlocked in your consciousness you begin to see it everywhere, and suddenly it makes more sense what it is speaking to you.  Here is another old work of mine called Bindi:

The root chakra is the way to the third eye.  The root is the primal mother Earth goddess creative force.  You have to tap that before you can evolve into the higher realms of consciousness.  Many, many people are stuck in their root because they ignore the goddess.  This only leads to survival issues and greed.  They ignore their own creative potential.  The way to change the world begins at the root.  This seems more apparent than ever as we sit here fearing for the people of Japan as they are dealing with nuclear meltdowns.  We all know that nuclear weapns are the ultimate result of greed, destruction, and fear; and maybe now we know that nuclear power is not so safe an energy source after all.  Then there is Japan's flag, setting there showing us the way to release the fear and "the way" to ascension is through the root.  The red dot on the flag is called the rising sun (son).  It is time to raise the red egg.

Oh, and I just thought of another red dot...the site I put my artwork on Red Bubble.  It is full of creative people working with their red egg energy.

One finished, one wip

Finally I think my muse has returned. I think she was hibernating most of the winter. I wasn't able to finish Ishtar. I got 3/4's the way done and decided I didn't really like the composition. I am silly that way sometimes. I will throw her on the half done pile and maybe come back to her 6 months from now. I just had this idea, it would be a fun collaboration with another artist to each send the other one of their half dones and see how someone else finishes it off. Anyhoo....
I wanted to paint a girl in a cocoon. That is how I am feeling right now, like I am about to sprout wings but for now I have to be patient in my cocoon. I finished her in about 3 days last week (she is small 11in. x 14 in.). My problem is that my camera is very old and crapping out on me. Everytime I try to take pictures in the larger settings it puts all these vibration looking lines into the work. Luckily my in-laws are giving me a "new" hand me down camera. It's only about 5 years old and still will be a major upgrade from the one I have now. I won't get this fabulous new camera for 4 more days, so I won't be able to take a good pic of her until then. I have a hard time not showing you all my work the minute it is complete so here is a teaser shot:

When I first decided I was going to learn to paint it was because I had decided at the time I would never be able to afford original art and if I wanted some on my walls I would have to do it myself. The point is I am completely addicted to original art. Since being on Red Bubble I have made many connections with other artist and have aquired some orginals through trade. Someday I will post a blog with pics of my "collection".
So my latest aquisition is by the amazing fantasy/faerie artist from Australia Kim Turner. I gave her a painting for her "Ariadne". I just love this painting so much, and seeing it in person is even more amazing than imaginable. I love staring at her painting strokes up close. I can't explain it, but it is like you feel the love she put into it. I think that is the power of true art. I told my husband I got tears in my eyes when I first opened it out of the box and he said "now you know what your art has the power to do for people."
Well, needless to say I was beyond inspired after getting her work. Last night I had to start another painting. I stayed up way too late and started this work I am going to call "The Phoenix Keeper". I am pretty sure it won't end up in the half done pile.

Sneak peek at Ishtar

Sorry I have been incommunicado for the last few weeks. Last week I got the worst cold I have had in a long time with a fever. Then it turned into a lovely sinus infection that I still can't completely shake. I haven't felt like painting or doing much of anything. I have read about other artists that get depressed when they have a long term illness. I somewhat understand now. When you are too sick to create it really starts to weigh on you.

I know there is more to me being sick right now than meets the eye. It has been an all around rough start to 2011 for me on the creative front. I have been questioning if I really have the energy for this or not. Wondering if I should just go get a desk job. A lot of this is just coming from the Winter Blues. January has been a rough month here in Kentucky. But I do think this illness had given me some time to ask myself what it is that I really want. The one thing I do know is it is no fun to not be able to create.

I have had a couple ideas for serpent goddesses in my head for weeks now. All this sinus pressure makes it really hard to lean over a painting, but I finally started on an Ishtar. I have been thinking a lot about the primal goddess/dragon energy. So many primal goddesses are connected to dragons, and dragons represent both spirit as they are part bird or have wings, and matter in their serpent form. Here is a little sneak peek at what I have so far on my Ishtar:

First sketch, Lady of the Forest

This is the first rough sketch of my "Lady of the Forest" for this month's Enchanted Visions Project. I have about 2 weeks to finish her and I am still trying to finish up a commissioned piece, so I am attempting to work on 2 things at once. Usually I like to start one thing and work on it until it is done, so we will see how this goes.
I might give her some wings when I get to painting on her, not sure yet. I feel like the composition needs something else, but I may change my mind once I start adding the paint. I might add some other animal in front of her on her left, maybe a deer peeking behind a tree. I also can't decide right now if her hair shall be black, red, or white. Any opinions?

Enchanted Visions Project

I am going to start participating in the Enchanted Visions project. If you have never heard of it, it was started by two famous faerie artists Jessica Galbreth and Amy Brown. Each month they decide on a theme and all particpating artists create a piece of fantasy art around that theme. You can checkout past themes and work here http://www.coriander-shea.com/enchanted-visions-project.html.

I think one of the hardest parts of being an emerging artist is defining your work. I am a Libra and am plagued with indecisiveness. One minute I want to do all Pop Surrealism, the next be a Fantasy Artist. I think my strong point lies somewhere in between these two. Anyway, I think the EV project will force me to do some more fantasy work which I have been wanting to do more of. Though I love them, I just don't know if I could do nothing but faeries....we will see.

Thinking of Red-winged Blackbirds

I often look at the world as one big tarot deck, meaning everything that happens is a symbol for something more. I especially feel this way when something happens that is on the news and effects more people than just me. I have been thinking a lot about these blackbirds that fell from the sky on New Year's Eve over Arkansas. What is the deeper meaning of this?

I am connected to Arkansas as it was the place of my birth. I was born in a small town called Mountainburg in the Ozark mountains of Northern Arkansas. Arkansas is a state that gets overlooked a lot. If it wasn't for Bill and Hillary being from there, many people would have never have even heard of it. It is a beautiful place with one of the most beautiful rivers in the world running through it, The Buffalo river. It also has some magical properties right in the heart of it. It has these incredible healing hot springs and produces a large amount of diamonds and quartz crystals all in the same area. I always felt magic when I walked outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas and would find hundreds of quartz crystals and amethyst lying naturally all over the ground. Let's just say that there is quite a lot of faerie energy there.

Then there is the fact that these blackbirds were red-winged blackbirds. I think these birds are very magical. When I was working on my painting 'The Seer" a couple of years ago I remember reading a lot about red-winged blackbirds. Here is a quote from Ted Andrew's "Animal Speak" about red-winged blackbirds:

"This bird has a red path on its wings, with a dash of yellow as well. These colors connect this bird to the level known as Binah in the Qabalistic Tree of Life. This is the level associated with the Dark Mother and the primal feminine energies. This bird has ties to all of the creative forces of nature." pg. 119 "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews.

I have mentioned before, as I am fascinated by these three colors, that red, black, and white (yellow in the Native American tradition) are always associated with the Dark Mother, and the Faerie realm in Celtic lore. Red-winged balckbirds are indeed a very special bird and messenger from the Otherworld.

So what is the message we should be getting from thousands of them falling lifeless from the sky? Well it certainly does seem ominous at first. Certainly blackbirds have been thought to be a bearer of bad omens for centuries.

I personally think it is a message about urgency and our power to create change. The womb of the Dark mother is where all of life springs from. The creative energy emerges from the darkness into the light. It is she who holds the power of creation. When we work with her we discover our own creative force. We have to accept our darkness before we can transmute it into the light. It is time, now more than ever, for us to get this. We can create great change in the world.

I also think there is a message about understanding our deep connection to nature. Nature speaks volumes to us if we will just listen to her. She is speaking loudly to us now, are you listening?

Siren's Call Finished.....or not....

Well I think I have finished with the Siren's call. I am sure every artist feels this way, sometimes I feel like they are never finished. I am a wierd mix of perfectionist and lazy sometimes. I work really hard at each painting, but I always feel like I need to do more. The only way I know I am done is when I get bored with the painting and feel like I can't stand to do anymore with it. It's not that I don't love them, I just think that is my personal in-built mechanism to make me stop painting.
It is cold, slightly snowy and cloudy here today. There is no way I will be able to get a good pic of her today outside. There is a big dilema when you take your own pictures of your work when winter comes. But hopefully I will be posting the final pictures of her soon.
I set up a new newsletter today. I guess that is pretty exciting. I want to do some fun things with it, more than just the ramblings you might read here in my blog. I hope to do some print giveaways, and do some writing about astrology, tarot, and other spiritually directed things. I hope it will be a fun and informative newsletter that people will look forward to getting once a month. You can sign up for it at my website here.
Alright then, I guess that is about it for today....sorry no pics of my Siren yet, but it is coming soon.

New WIP, The Siren's call

Started a new painting a few days ago, just haven't gotten very far with her yet. This one is going to be similar to The Bridge in many ways. I am thinking about the siren and her haunting call. In myth she calls men and/or sailors to their deaths with her song. Of course mythical beings associated with water are always connected to the feminine consciousness and the subconcious mind. Water is like the void or the womb, where all of creation springs from.
I think that the siren's call is the call that beckons us onto the spiritual path. It calls for us to begin the journey into our subconscious, the journey of unpeeling our issues and facing our egos. The problem comes when we are not quite ready to deal with these issues.
Many people have a constant yearning for something that they can never define. In a sense, that yearning is the siren's call. Many people also choose to try and distinguish that yearning with the proverbial sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. The things that they think will get them closest to union with god/goddess, without having to face their ego. I think this is the destruction that the siren leads most men too, but she can also lead you to the destruction of your ego.
I have included an egret because they are a bird, along with other herons, that are always on the edge of the two worlds (water and land, physical and spiritual). Also there is a loon because they have a haunting call just like the siren. Here is what I have so far:





I have been struggling a lot with the background on this one. It just doesn't want to show itself fully to me yet, but I think it is starting too.

The Hare and The Bridge

I finished painting The Bridge today and will start posting her places later. First I thought I would write a little about the Hare since I covered the Fox in my last post. The hare is connected to the moon in many cultures (as you can see a hare in the moon). It is also connected to the Faerie realm like the Fox, as it is mainly seen at Dusk and Dawn.
Many moon, hunting, and love and fertility goddesses are also connected to the Hare. The Hare is a very strong symbol of ancient feminine magic and the Otherworld. The hare symbolizes fertility and new life. The goddess herself represents the energy of nature and the ever-turning cycles of birth and rebirth. Therefore it makes perfect sense that the hare is so connected to the goddess as the hare is an animal that is prey to almost every predator, and yet it's hightened fertility allows it to be reborn again and again.
I was born during the year of the Hare in Chinese astrology and that is probably another reason why I am so obsessed with the moon, that and my moon was in Cancer.
Here is a not so great pic of my lil' Hare in "The Bridge":

New WIP and one that will never be

I usually like to finish any work I start, but lately that hasn't been the case. I use to just be able to crank out work even if I didn't feel overly in love with it as I was working on it. It seems now I have to be completely in love with what I am doing or I lose interest.
I have started two faeries over the past few weeks and have gotten more than halfway done and then got bored. Who knows, maybe someday I will finish them. I also tried to do a self portrait. I have been reading the Harry Potter series to the kids and I am completely jealous of all those wizards and their pet owls. I decided to do a portrait of me with a pet owl (and really long hair). This is as far as I got.

I did it on a scrappy piece of watercolor paper, and when I started to paint on it I suddenly remembered I hate painting on watercolor paper. The paint just dries way too fast and never looks very vibrant to me. There are a few watercolorists that can achieve vibrant color on paper, but it seems I will never be one of them. So it looks like I will never finish my owl and me.
I have started one I think I will finish though. This one will be called "The Bridge". It has to do with becoming a bridge between the worlds. The work includes a fox and hare, two animals that are only seen in the in-between times of Dawn and Dusk and are thought to lead people into the Faerie realm.

WIP "Deirdre of the Sorrows"

A couple of weeks ago I decided to start working on a Deirdre of the Sorrows. Deirdre is one of the most tragic characters of Pre-Christian Irish Myth. Her story comes from the Ulster cycle and has all the makings of a classic fairy tale, except for a very unhappy ending. I originally just wanted to paint a Celtic goddess that was known for her otherworldly beauty and was drawn to Deirdre. Her story is a little bit like Helen of Troy, a beautiful woman that causes the ruin of kings and warriors, but the symbolism of the story is so rich I couldn't resist painting it.
There are many versions of this story, at least 5 plays and 4 books have been written about her, and although the stories vary slightly, the basic theme is the same. So Deirdre is born to a royal storyteller in the court of the king Conchobar. A Druid priest prophesied when she was born that she would be the ruin of the king and the kingdom because of her great beauty. She was almost put to death for this, but the king was so intrigued by her future beauty that he decided to keep her alive and marry her when she grew up. He placed her in foster care hidden away from others.
Here is where the story starts to intrigue me. She lives in a house hidden under the ground (faerie dwelling=sidhe) and is mainly cared for by an old woman named Leabharcham. Leabharcham is the wise crone goddess and/or possibly a high priestess of the old ways. One day Deirdre looks out and sees her foster father slaughtering a young calf during the winter as there is snow on the ground. This in itself is strange because in the old faerie lore you did not slaughter animals after the Blood moon in late October or early November. Any animal or grain harvested after this time belonged to the Fay or the dead ancestors and would harm the living if they partook of it.
So Deirdre looks out at the scene and sees a raven come and start to nibble at the blood on the snow. Most people would see this as some kind of dark omen, but Deirdre sees her future lover and proclaims that she would like to have a lover like that with hair the color of a raven, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow. At this point one might be reminded of Snow White, and one should be. The white as snow, red as blood or rubies, and black as the raven is like a code in fairy tales. White, red, and black are the colors of the Dark goddess and of the Faerie realm. I think that Deirdre is claiming her lover to be the goddess, or rather stating her love for the goddess here.
So the symbolism has laid the hints. Deirdre is in the faerie realm. She is between and betwixt the worlds, just like Snow White was when she entered the dark forest and met the gnomes (or dwarfs if you want to call them that). She soon meets this raven haired pale skinned Marilyn Mansion looking lover named Naoise. She runs away with him and lives in some forest in Scotland for awhile and lives blissfully happy there for a moment.
Eventually they have to return to Ireland. In a nutshell, Conchobar succeeds in having Naoise killed, marries Deirdre but she is miserable and kills herself. In one account she knocks her head on a boulder as her carriage is passing it. So what is the meaning of all this tragedy? Like most myth, the meaning is multi-layered, but one meaning seems to come out at me. I think in part, this story is about the old matriarchal Bronze age goddess societies being taken over by the more Patriarchal warrior ones. I think it is trying to warn people that the way of war and Patriarchy is a road only to greed and ruin.
Deirdre is the sovereign goddess in this tale, as at that time a king was still not truly a king unless he was married to the sovereign goddess. She was the living representative of the goddess and the Earth or the land. If we are too greedy with her, if we take advantage of her, she will perish and so will our kingdoms.
Okay, so now on to my painting. It is a lot of pressure to try and paint a face that would cause the downfall of so many men. Hopefully I captured her beauty and otherworldliness here:












You can see the pencil workings of a raven that will be carrying a serpent shaped golden torque. In some accounts of the story Deirdre has a dream right before Naoise is killed of hundreds of ravens flying with bloody torques in their mouths. I think this is a strong symbol for the story as a whole. Gold and white are similar in their symbolic meaning, and I am painting the torque (which was worn around warriors necks) in the oroborus style to again symbolize the goddess.

As always, I hope to have this finished this week....we will see. I am leaving you with a photo of me in the Underworld of Faerie (or better known as Cathedral Caverns in Northern Alabama) surrounded by the energy of gnomes.

The Guardians, new WIP

Well the summer is almost over and I have felt uninspired most of the time. I had to paint a couple of paintings for upcoming themed exhibits. One was for the Tomato Art Festival in East Nashville on August 14th and the other was for a traveling exhibit called "The Womanly Art" that is being put on by the Southern Indiana La Leche League. Although I was very excited to paint both of these, my inspiration was slow to come, and both works took me longer than I had originally planned. Both works are finished now and posted on my redbubble profile.
I have had another work in my mind for weeks now. I had to wait to start her until I was finished with the before mentioned works. That was slightly hard for me. This painting began to permeate my every thought. I think I learned a lesson in patience though. I felt like I let the idea grow for awhile in my womb before I finally got to birth her, and I think the work is better because of this.
The piece is about the shift of consciousness that we are all going through right now. The energy is shifting all around us, whether we realize it or not. This work carries along the themes of "I Feel Fragile Today". The energies are going through us and we feel uncomfortable because we feel we are changing, but we don't really know what is happening to us. In this work I am trying to show that it is our connection to nature that will help guide us through this change.
The Guardians is a large 2x3 foot acrylic on canvas. Here she is in the early sketch phase.


And here is a detail of her face.


Here she is with the face coming to life and a bit of color in the background.


And then I worked her face some more. This is what she looks like right now.


I started painting her yesterday and was up way too late working on her. I am feeling like I am in complete painting bliss with her. I have a lot of detail to do on her that might take me a few weeks and I have a couple of trips coming up to see family. My kids start school again, already, in about 2 weeks. My time to paint is going to really open up then. I feel the Fall will bring lots of creations.