Why I Paint
      I am a self-taught painter and have been creating these images for many years now.  I had to channel my hopes,  loves, desires, fears, angers--all the bottled up emotions--into a new form. A particular emotion or idea evoked in my mind an image or  a series of images.  I would then transfer it to canvas--attempting to remain as true to the image as possible.  Now the canvas has become a playground for me to express myself in colours and gestures that reflect my inner and outer world, hence the constantly changing styles in the marriage of colour and canvas.  Largely naive and expressionist, my paintings help me to come to terms with external and internal stimuli.

     Sometimes my paintings are obtuse, as is life.  We would like life to be without conflicts and complications, but that is not possible.   Conflict feeds our art so that we may move towards a greater awareness on all levels.  While I may deal with certain aspects of the shadow, I cannot help but introduce an element from the light, for there is also hope or an escape or a way out of dilemmas.   My youngest sister pointed out to me that despite the dramatic, intense, and sometimes serious quality of my works, there is a tender something, like a softly curling leaf or smile lying hidden somewhere.   What does emerge for me, even as the images are channeled through me, is the sense of an intense and deep connection between all living matter, deeper than the eye can see or the ear can hear--as deep as the umbilical cord connecting to the core of  the earth.   
    It has been suggested to me that I explain my paintings in brief narratives.  I am tempted by that idea, but I wonder if my narratives will take away from the mystery in the images, which are themselves interpretations of life's moments, hence of life's mystery.  So, I urge you to see these images as mirrors for your own "symbolic unfoldment," for your sightings of your own mystery, for the mysterious is universal.

Check the links to the list of galleries
mentioned below or click on the image.
     

Our Beloved

     Karuna   Acrylic  20x24

The painting Karuna was inspired years ago one day when I missed my mother.  Karuna means compassion, a quality and an emotion most suited to a mother, and also to the beloved.  The beloved must be compassionate and passionate.  The embrace in the painting signifies that which is close, dear, precious, worthy of love and respect.  All are aspects of being and sharing of love with the beloved and of being the beloved.  

The paintings in this gallery suggest these themes in a variety of colours and forms, each lyrical, capturing and containing a universe.  You might go to the poetry link to read the poem "Who is the Beloved?"and other poems that suggest a connection between mother and language.

Dances With Flowers

Morning Lights  1996  18x24

Flowers are nature's sweet splendour.  They suggest grace, wisdom, quietude, passion.  They celebrate life, and they are our offerings to those whom we cherish.  Sometimes, they are our tokens of peace, even a cover of guilt.  But they are a source of joy and abundance whose beauty is welcomed in our concrete urban environments and to which we escape.  

My flowers come from my own imagination.  These paintings are my playgrounds, where I can play with colour and with water knowing full well that I cannot define them.  They shape the moments they take and give themselves form while they settle in their own way on the canvas.  My only contribution is to begin the process and then the water and the flowers take over, and I am compelled to surrender.  Any resistance on my part is apt to make the image look forced.  The flowers have their own say, and I like that.  

Myths & Dreams

Tender Is the Self.  1999.  18x24

This gallery is a collection of paintings that have come from my own world of fantasy, of myth--a personal house of symbols, of exploring archetypes.  Tender Is the Self was painted to reflect many aspects of my journey at that time.  The woman with a flower in a halo where the head should be stands cradling her head with tenderness and compassion.  She stands and emerges from the fire where she is comfortable, while her blue hair or night meets the fire.  There are many polarities present in this painting.  The eyes on the face suggest self-containment and the ability to perceive with clarity.  The rest I prefer to leave to you to feel and intuit as you choose to do so.
__________________

"Art is about hope."
Check out the FILM page and look for Androgyne.

 To make contact, e-mail me- info@preciousheartchi.com