Tuesday, February 18, 2020

on Combining Obsessions...

"Waiting for Persephone", 10x10" mixed media on 1.5" wood cradle panel. 

I'm really into mythology.

It started in grade school when I had to do a project based around a greek myth. The stories were riveting, the characters oh so captivating. It led me down a rabbit hole. Now, in my 50s, I have books on most of the major mythologies that I've collected over the years. Christian, Greek, Roman, Indigenous, Celtic, Norse... similarities in the tales and the characters led me to do some reading on Archetypes and Jungian theory, which in itself is really interesting. Like I said, rabbit hole.

I have never really incorporated any of this knowledge into my work before. It's not that I hadn't thought about it... I've made tons of notes in sketchbooks over the years trying to figure out what kind of imagery I could create that could speak about these myths. Nothing ever jumped out at me as a good idea. In fact, nothing really even made it past the initial concept phase. I didn't want to be pegged as a religious painter, no matter what religion. Many of the stories are far too violent for my aesthetic. Then there was the issue with models and symbolism and cultural appropriation... I just didn't ever get far enough into it to get all the problems worked out and figure out how it would work. 

But... abstract? Hey, that could totally work.

Connecting shapes and colours to an ancient story could be a really interesting exercise. And the feeling is important, because my paintings centre around what feelings I can evoke as much as telling a linear "story".  I started off with one piece, my 'Persistence of Artemis", and that led to this one, and yet another still .... I'm pretty sure I can make this a series with lots of variety. Even if it ends up being short lived, I think I'm going to give it a go and see how far I can take it. If nothing else it will give me an excuse to dig out all my books and reread my favourite tales. 

This painting is based upon the story of Persephone, who is from the Greek mythos. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter {everyone knows who Zeus is... Demeter is his wife, goddess of the harvest and agriculture). Homer describes Persephone as the formidable, venerable, majestic queen of the underworld, who "carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead". I will go into more detail about this particular story in my next newsletter... I think it will be fun sharing these myths with my readers and trying to explain how my painting portrays it. If you're interested and want to read these stories, you can sign up on my website. 



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