SOMEWHERE A SNOW LEOPARD LISTENS   –  oil & mixed mediums on Belgian linen –     
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Regal and protective she sits with her cub. The story here tells me of life as ancient as the land reaching back into the snow capped mountains of time. Is the shadow her past or her future, her destiny or her ancestry. Her future undetermined floats on the waters of time. Will there be a future for her kind. Imploring she reaches out stirring me with her quiet reflection.
Inspired by stories told by friends who work with the Snow Leopard Conservancy,  she is a part of a series of big cat paintings.

I created the cat large as life so that we, the audience, look up to her. Her home territory is Central Asia, also the home of Buddhism, coincidentally where much of my symbolism comes from.

Thank you for visiting.  Stay creative in your world – blaze

EMERGENCE  –  oil & mixed mediums on Belgian linen –
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This painting signified a pause in the restrictions of doing projects and a need to reconnect with my own creative process. Yellow, pink and turquoise created a starting point. My favorite colors, they help me connect with the feeling of beauty that I wanted to express in this painting. I knew it would be part of my horse project but had no idea what might evolve. I struggled to move forward feeling creatively blocked. I keep a beautiful hand-painted box for inspiring words and images. Opening the precious container of my inspiration, I knew it would hold a key to what was needed for this painting to flourish. Symbolically I painted a turquoise border around the image as though the box was open. There inside I felt the story take wings.
I found symbols appearing that had been present in earlier work, the stairway, the 7 moons, the eagle to mention a few. The winged horse was new. At the time I was reading about souls and reincarnation. Maybe there is a suggestion of this here. I do feel there is a birth in this. Or maybe it is the cycle of life-death-rebirth. This painting is always a catalyst for visitors to share their insights.

See you again soon.  Stay creative in your world – blaze

AS MOWGLI SLEEPS   –  28″ X 40″ –  oil & mixed mediums on Belgian linen –
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“As Mowgli sleeps the forest weeps tears of joy”  –  Several years ago I found an original edition of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. It gave me the idea of creating a series around the 22 animals in the story,enough for a large body of work.

The story itself is timeless, coming to life thru many generations. Usually seen through a child’s imagination, as an adult it gave me a deeper insight into my own dream of Mowgli’s inner world.
Beginning with a dark broken finish, I wanted to experience the story as if in reverie. The imagery speaks of the interconnection of all things. As I continued to layer color, the characters appeared. Jungle Book is not a wafty children’s story of goodness rather an often confronting reality of life in the jungle. A metaphor for our human jungle?

Bagheera, Baloo, Akela, seem to have a story of their own to tell. Nearly complete I sat as always quietly allowing the image to wash over me. Usually insights and ideas come from this. Mind you I do not always remember to do it. Words came through to me as I noticed a white space. Truth Love Compassion live here. The symphony of life serenades our dreams. So I added the music score and created the title.

Keep that smile on your heart and stay creative in your world – blaze