Monday, July 30, 2012

Some of my Favorites

Here is a collection of 10 of my favorite paintings with brief comments about them.


Dream
I began this painting fascinated by the color red. As I played with it on the canvas, I felt energized and happy. I became lost in the bright colors of red, orange and yellow. Gradually I could see the contours of a feminine figure take shape on the canvas. I felt the passionate strength of the figure’s heart, free and fully open to the dynamic flow of life, looking heavenward for inspiration, unafraid to dream great dreams.


At the Portal
This painting was inspired by Rassouli’s first Open Studio evening. I felt so at home in the creative loving energy of the evening that I began painting the following morning to express the pure joy I was feeling. In this realm of the soul we are swept up in blue waves of peace and harmony, dancing jubilantly in the love and abundant blessings showered from the robe of the divine feminine. The spirit is renewed in this sanctuary from separateness, flourishing in the community of loving beings whose journey has brought them home. At the Portal is rich in color and the blessing of meeting others in the flowing spirit and creative power of love.


Spiritual Alchemy

Over breakfast at a 3 day Fusionart retreat a few of us had a fascinating conversation about the development of a modern creation myth. This ignited my imagination and I began reworking an old canvas I had brought with me. Letting the music take me away, I became immersed in imagery of primordial life forms evolving and gradually emerging from darkness to become transformed over eons of time into enlightened human beings. A feeling of awe came over me as I painted, and I bowed inwardly to the Source, eternally creating on an infinitely vast scale far beyond our comprehension.


Divine Love

I painted Divine Love shortly after returning from a brief stay in the hospital. I was filled with a feeling of gratitude and a vision of loving beings arriving at a divine grove of peace and beauty. The painting was on exhibit at a local gallery when a woman came into the gallery. She returned to the painting over and over. She said that when she looked at the painting, she “felt chills” and became “choked up.” Someone very close to her had just died and she was making preparations for the funeral. She had made a heart connection with this painting, which for her was a personally meaningful expression of what she was feeling for her departed loved one. She bought the painting, and I was happy to know that she had made such a deep connection with it.


Cycle of the Soul

This painting is an expression of the intangible reality of souls vibrating in a higher realm. A feeling of oneness and reverence came over me as I was immersed in a vision of the soul circling the Light just as the planets revolve around the sun. The unseen force of gravity guides each planet in its orbit, and the invisible power of the Light propels the soul through space and time. The soul sheds density and darkness when it returns to the Light of Truth after each human experience. The Light of Love acts like a vortex that inevitably draws the soul back to itself. Drawn to the Light, the soul becomes more and more transparent by mirroring the Light. Throughout untold lifetimes, the soul expands by surrendering to the Light until it finally realizes that it is the Light.


Expansion


This painting emerged out of a strong feeling of compassion for humanity. The arms remain outstretched to heaven in the midst of darkness as blossoming light illuminates the path to the divine. Embracing the mystery of darkness enables us to expand into the light of love.


Serendipity


On the second morning of a 3 day retreat I was filled with creative energy after the demonstration. I couldn’t wait to get to my easel. In my eagerness to begin painting, I accidentally tipped over my jar of red paint, spilling it over part of the canvas and onto the floor. It looked like a crime scene where a bloody murder had taken place. This was definitely the death of any expectations I had about what I would paint. Fortunately the universe had a better plan. The “accident” actually increased my concentration as I was determined to resurrect the canvas. I began by adding yellow to soften the red into orange. I played with the color until a figure gradually began to emerge. There was a magical synergy in the studio. I felt that the creative energy of the other artists was feeding me as I was feeding them. I stayed connected to the painting even while we were dancing to the music in front of our easels. Spilling the red paint was actually a great blessing. Rather than bemoaning the accident, I decided to literally “go with the flow”. This is what can happen when we let go of resistance to the present moment.


Connection


I entered a meditative state in which I was experiencing a feeling of enchantment and romance. Automatically I began applying the colors I was seeing with swirling brushstrokes. I had no preconceived idea of what I would paint. I was just immersed in the process. Our hearts and bodies recognize and desire the joy of intimate connection. At the same time we realize that the bliss of union goes far beyond the passion of lovemaking. Deeper than physical romance is the romance of the soul in which lovers climb the stairway of eternity trusting in divine guidance and protection. This work reflects the universal ecstasy of surrendering to love. The union of opposites in the oneness of love envelops all forms. It is love which ultimately unites body and spirit, temporal and eternal, sacred and profane, in its ubiquitous embrace.



Inner Landscape

I love to explore the mystery of the inner universe, and I am fascinated by the ways different realities intersect, connect, overlap and fuse together. When I entered a meditative state to begin this painting, a strong sense of mystery came over me. I felt like I was given a glimpse of another dimension I had never seen before, and yet it was familiar. The painting that resulted is an expression of that simultaneous feeling of mystery and recognition.


Blissful Encounter


When the mind lets go and becomes silent, the spirit can ascend to realms of exquisite beauty and higher levels of being. As I began this painting, the music awakened such happiness in me that I easily let go of illusory difficulties and became drawn to warm, soft colors. Absorbed in creative play, I will paint for hours in a meditative state with no sense of time. During this period I had a deep feeling of visiting a realm of tenderness and joy. I felt humbled and grateful to have entered a refined region of the soul where celestial entities radiate bliss and glow with the warmth of unconditional love. The entities move freely without limitation and separation as they playfully melt into each other and the surrounding space. This experience soothed and refreshed my heart.

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