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| #51 The Wyzened; Otherwyze Series |
In February my wonderful husband
of 22 years, Phil, awakened to the world beyond form. Taken so unexpectedly, though
he is with me in spirit, I miss his sweet presence. He was, from the
day we met, the most supportive and encouraging person
in my life with regard to my spiritual journey and creative
explorations. This new series is dedicated to him for far too many
reasons to name. The foundational sketches of many of the paintings in
this series were actually made at his bedside in the last weeks of his
life. The tiny acrylic and pencil sketches afforded me a container for
the thoughts and feelings that rose and fell inside of me as we learned
his time here was nearing an end. Working on them in the hospital as he slept his last weeks away, they carried me into a sort of timeless-ness and spaceless-ness needed in such circumstances. Bringing them to completion as
finished paintings serves me in these times since his passing.
This
painting is one of my very favorite, entitled Wyzened, is a symbolic depiction of Phil's journey
through and beyond the physical world. Read from the bottom up, it tells
the story of the enlightened child, born with heightened gifts of
guidance, and of the love he brought to the world through the masks he
abandoned in exchange for transparency. It is a painting of deep
introspection, purpose, love and enlightenment, all aspects of Phil's
life. Filled with personal as well as archetypal symbolism this painting
finishes with the depiction of a bearded wise man who embraced the
lessons he came for and shared them by example; the Wyzened.
