At one time, I struggled with the quality of canvas available at the local art store. I found that many of the canvases lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. I took to painting on linen that I purchased by the meter. This one time, I decided to paint the canvas before I had it stretched. I bundled the cloth into a ball and tied it with string, then I poured orange and aqua paint over it and massaged it in. The unravelled cloth was the base of the painting that you see above. To my surprise, the random patterns created on the cloth by the paint were so beautiful. I started placing dots along the organic lines that it had created. The painting took on the appearance of cartography. I followed my intuition as to where to place the dotted lines. After I was done with this task, I stared at it for a long while. I was concerned that there was no method to this madness. The map looked like no place that I had visited before.
Weeks went by; I abandoned the canvas. I didn't know where I wanted to take the painting from what I had already created. Sometimes paintings will take you on a journey. Other times it will abandon you. I knew that this painting wasn't finished with me. I knew that when it was the right time, it'll tell me how to finish it.
Most artists work on a painting with a definite preconceived image or vision, and they follow a nice and straight line. Artists commonly plan out their paintings in a small scale study. I am what you would call an intuitive artist, and this is how I work all the time. The painting works on me; I don't work it! Sometimes, the paintings make me want to grind my teeth in frustration precisely because I don't know where it is taking me! I need to learn to enjoy the journey and trust that it'll end well.
This is how the painting finished with me. It used the internet! As it happened, I was surfing "random stuff", and I came across a website about Earth's vortices. The vortices are, to put it simply, said to be important Earth sites for humanity. Scientists, archaeologists, physicists, mystics, poets, and artists alike have all found these beautiful locations to inspire them to create, investigate, and question their reality. When I read through the list of sites, I knew at once that it was connected to my painting. Here is the unbelievable part. The natural formations that are created, as I mentioned before, perfectly illustrated some of the Earth's vortices that were listed. Specifically, the unique shape of Lake Titicaca and the Andes mountain range was already etched by the print for me from an aerial perspective. So was the aerial view of Uluru!!! Some other sacred sites depicted in the painting are Mount Shasta, Glastonbury, Mount Kailas and Giza.
I know that you think that I saw what I wanted to see. But that's precisely the unbelievable part. I now knew how I was meant to finish this painting with a more significant meaning. If you are an artist, you would know that this is a tremendous gift in itself.
I will leave the story there; I don't want to over-explain this painting to you. Suppose it is a topic that interests you. In that case, I will encourage you to google 'LEI LINES' 'OUROBOROS', 'EARTH CHAKRA" and "THOUSAND PETAL LOTUS" and find yourself going down a rabbit hole as Alice did when she visited the otherworldly Wonderland. You will not regret the journey. In the meantime, I have a single archival reproduction of this painting available to purchase by visiting my gallery. But if you live too far, please get in touch with me, and I will be happy to make you a limited edition print and post it to you.
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