Occasionally, people “out grow” their paintings. From changes in experiences to evolving beliefs or even Life Event changes. In Ralph’s case, we “both” evolved from the original painting I did for him back in 2005.
When I was in Toronto back in December 2009 I noticed that Ralph had transcended his original painting, and knew I wanted to break it down into individual pieces to now incorporate Daniella into his life in images.
There will also be a fourth painting to this trio, representing Daniella – which will be forthcoming in the next few months. [Read more...]
In November 2009 a young man from the Czech Republic emailed me regarding one of the turtle’s I had done for 
Once again, another wondrous and mystical collaboration with a very willing and open client. Simon emailed me back in January as he was emerging from a dark time in his life. He was turning over a new leaf and embarking on significant changes to his life and mindset. Part of his new direction involved buying a new condo which he wanted to decorate with his own artistic flair, which included a reverence to his life in symbols.
The wonderful thing about painting for other people is that (both artistically and otherwise) they take you places you wouldn’t normally go if you were only working at a level within your own self. You gain a different perspective by jumping inside their head and crawling around in their skin for a while. Not just to see the world how they see it… but to learn what they have learned by looking at the world this way. It is amazing what you can gain when you are willing to give up your strength, for a time, to learn the strength of another.
I’ve been very drawn to the turtle lately. I found I’ve been using The Turtle’s energy and patience these past few months as I’ve been getting my hand back into fighting form. Just prior to starting this hanging I designed a turtle tattoo for a client in San Francisco, and part of what I designed for him has ended up in this hanging (middle square). It is the symbolism in general of the turtle that this hanging most represents (protection, patience, wisdom, courage, compassion, perseverance, skill, longevity, loyalty, peace, confidence, love, mother earth, adaptability, healing, and knowledge), but there were some specific attributes I wanted to accentuate. The turtle is an animal whose magic united heaven and earth, and the sea turtle in particular is a prevailing mythic figure and archetype. Therefore, I wanted each square to represent a specific element of this magical creature.
I started painting this one just after my friend Fiona had given me the Live Aid (1985) DVD for a Christmas. I’d forgotten how much I loved Ultravox as a teenager, and it was nice to be reunited with this old friend, especially the song Vienna. So, because I listened to this song about, oh… 7 or 8 million times while painting this hanging, unfortunately, that is the name it got!
This one went to Delores for her partner in crime. I used the turtle and the lizard as symbolism in this hanging, as well as my 2 different images of the sun / moon. Much of this was also done right-handed (injured my hand painting Pending Sun) as there was a rush to get it done so she could give it to him for Christmas. How I suffer for my art!
This was done as a house warming present for friends Jenn and Jeff. Trying to blend deep taupe walls with a shockingly bright blue leather couch was my biggest challenge. Luckily Jenn was wearing this great maroon sweater when I went to the house to measure the size of the hanging, and saw how well it went with the wall, and made that my dominant colour.
This was the first commissioned hanging and the third one I painted. My friends Tracy and Murray saw the ones I’d created to cover up spaces in my house and wanted me to paint them one. I decided to do one for their wedding present (since I became a marriage commissioner for a day and presided over the ceremonies and actually married them 8 months before – and… yes, sheepishly I admit I hadn’t actually gotten around to getting them a present yet). Quite an honour for me!