The Precipice

36×36 Acrylic and Raw Pigment on Canvas

There are various, potentially perilous or painful circumstances which we face as individuals throughout our lives.

Sometimes we are granted a moment to stand on the edge of these situations and reflect on our options.

At other times, we must simply wait, on the edge, until we fall, get pushed, or get called back into safer territory by fate.

Standing at these precipices, I believe is where we are able to experience that larger part of ourselves which is able to see the smaller part of ourselves looking for the next step on our journey.

The larger part patiently observes, oversees our choices without judgment, and tries to give us as much information as it can about what is beyond the precipice.

The collective of Humanity is presently standing on the precipice of change.

We have the option to look out from this precipice and contemplate our next step in the evolution of our consciousness and our place on this beautiful planet.

We can not know everything that lies beyond this precarious edge where we have come to stand. But the larger part of us, the part that sees the bigger picture, is watching as we decide where we will go from here, and it gives us strength.

 

The Pyramids of Somnia

The Pyramids of Somnia  60×48 Acrylic and Raw Pigment on Canvas

We live in a culture where sleep is considered an incidental part of our lives.

We work until we are exhausted—we consume caffeine, energy drinks, even pharmaceuticals to keep us going until we can go no more.

We attempt to stay physically awake in order to accomplish more goals, have more experiences, cope with the insane demands of our way of life.

The consequences of avoiding sleep,  intentionally or not, can actually put us to sleep in a different way, walking through the Pyramids of Somnia in a daze, a waking dream where a sandstorm may be rising to bury us as we sleepwalk.

Cognizant Dissonance

Cognizant Dissonance 36×48 Acrylic, Silver Leaf, Gold Leaf on Canvas

We are cognizant of the cognitive dissonance.

A condition of conflict and anxiety created by inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s reality. The confusion that results from holding onto beliefs which are incongruous to what we are witnessing can leave fractured truths clinging to our perceptions. The concept of the Iron Curtain existed in the twentieth century, creating devisions of economies and  alliances. The remnants of that invisible Iron Curtain was psychologically dismantled with the Berlin Wall in 1989. Sometimes there is no tangible symbol to represent a curtain—especially if the curtain is actually a veil. Presently, we live in the midst of a diaphanous Golden Curtain. It represents our beliefs about Democracy, Humanity, and established social structures which we have adhered to until now. Perhaps we need to peek behind this veil to repair fractured truths and begin to dismantle the sources of our own cognizant dissonance.

In the Shadow of Ungrown Trees

In The Shadow of Ungrown Trees 36×36 Acrylic and Gold on Canvas

A forest, a haunting place where young men never grow old. They stay forever as new green seedlings.

These seedlings exist in the minds of those who have lost young men to war, gang violence, and all tragedies that would steal the life of a young man before he can take root and grow into a full-grown tree.

Tree of Tantalus

Tree of Tantalus 40×40 Acrylic and Gold on Canvas

In Greek Mythology, Tantalus (Tántalos) was banished to the Underworld for trying to bring the nectar of the Gods to his people.

For attempting to steal this ambrosia, he was cursed to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.

We are tantalized by the idea of the unobtainable.

If we are tempted to reveal the secrets of the Gods, are we forever banished to reach for that which we can never have?

Out of the Dark

72×24 Acrylic, Raw Pigment, and Gold on Canvas

Heirloom Seed

72×24 Acrylic and Gold on Canvas (2 Panels)

The Messenger

48×36 Acrylic, Raw Pigment, and Gold on Canvas

Out of a great void arrives a messenger.

There are times when truth can be unsettling.
The myths to which we cling can leave us in darkness where we may be content to believe we know ourselves, our world, or even our universe.

The Messenger can arrive in passion, maybe even love, to disrupt our self generated myths.

We ultimately must trust and allow ourselves to hear the message so we can rise up from our complacency and explore our lives with authenticity.

On the Brink of Civilization

On the Brink of Civilization • 48×36 • Acrylic and Gold on Canvas

Peering through the windows of history, we find all the lessons, the errors, and the achievements that bring us to this present moment.

This is the moment in which we ask ourselves, “Are we civilized yet?”

What cost, civilization?

New Guardian

New Guardian 36×36 Acrylic and Gold on Canvas

Changing of the guard does not always mean changing of the environment.

A Guardian is sacred but that which he guards is what makes him sacred.

One can hope and believe the words from the mouth of the guardian.

The words are seeds that inspire change in the hearts of the guarded.

But it is after the guardian demonstrates his intent, that we feel safeguarded and hope is justified.

May the seeds grow into a strong tree to shelter Humanity from harsh storms.

May we all support the New Guardian with our own efforts, to nourish the soil that has been so parched.