Just a few interesting items from some very unproductive years.
Not only does the land suffer when the stewards of the land suffer, but we see the world through the lens of our suffering.
I produced a series of small drawings called the sleepers series in around 2005, intending to make large oil paintings someday. in 2019 i produced the drawing that this is based on and finished this work in January 2020. it is quite prescient of the year that followed.
I saw this image in a dream in march 2019 during a microsleep whilst reading, I thought "That's interesting!" and quickly sketched it down in my notebook. in November that year I produced this work, the events of the years that followed lent an ominous weight to the image.
What can I say...the madness of the last few years and the rise of the emotionally incontinent drowning the voice of reason.
I would home from work on a Friday after a difficult week. sit outside at night with a beer and watch the Sugar gliders and Ringtails scamper in the forest next door. A family of Tawny frogmouths would often keep me company and the Mopokes would call to each other across the valley silenced on the occasions one would hear the call of a powerful Owl. Sometimes over the years a Koala would pass through. The thump, thump of Wallaby in the dark and the rustle of Antechinus, Echidna and squeaking of Bandicoot in the grass. By day there was bird and reptile, seven species of frog would sing the rain. All gone now. The land subdivided. The trees wood chipped, lying sectioned and prone, or truncated like mute crucifixes against my quiet night sky.
A somewhat tragic tale from the The Kalevala that is a catalyst for later events in the Finnish national epic. It is a story of youthful pride, arrogance, revenge and hubris, as well as judging by appearances and disrespect for wisdom and tradition. Dark nights of the soul and redemption through compassion. Also that too have power does not make one all powerful. I have been inspired by The Kalevala more than once in my work but I wished in this to avoid the beautiful shadow of Akseli Gallen Kallela’s masterful paintings in my interpretation.
It is worth noting that the hero Vainamoinen most likely was the inspiration for JR Tolkien’s Gandalf and Tom Bombadil.
This is a study for a larger work, that I am currently working on; as I wasn't entirely happy with elements of the composition. It is an ancient tale of resentment that is just as valid today.
Oil on linen 1200x900mm 2016
Oil on canvas 1800x1220 mm 2016
Oil on ply 600 x 475mm 2016
Ink and watercolour wash on paper 210 x 297mm 2016
