“The social responsibility of the artist is to reunite people with their reality through the
rhythms, symbols and patterns that have long inspired mankind.” I Ching (R. L. Wing interpretation)
rhythms, symbols and patterns that have long inspired mankind.” I Ching (R. L. Wing interpretation)
Prismacolor Pencil
Rainbow Bird
Art has always provided me with sanctuary, a bubble of meditative quiet, and, when necessary, a safety valve for releasing emotional pressure, but in my early twenties I discovered something more, a subtle metaphorical language interlaced with the lines and shapes I felt compelled to draw. Everything, it seemed, had a story to tell. A bird, a tree, the moon, the sea... each possessed intrinsic value in its ecological niche, while carrying instructive metadata as well.
In the creative space conjured by pencil, pen or charcoal pressed against paper, I found ordinary features of the landscape to be metaphorms, natural expressions of the otherwise invisible psychological dynamics behind observable reality. While I drew a tree bent by the wind, an inner voice whispered that I too had the capacity to bend and adapt to the storms that inevitably assail us all. The sea, it cooed, is an apt metaphor for the unfathomable depths of consciousness, the tidal ebb and flow of emotion dictated by the moon, which is, in turn, the embodiment of eternal change paradoxically constant in its relentless cycling. And so it went, a soft voice offering pithy insights into the forms emerging from paper or canvas.
Drawing was no longer a solitary pursuit, but part of an internal dialogue that taught me that we live in a web of living symbols. I had reached a point in my psychological and artistic development of no longer being satisfied by merely mimicking superficial reality; I wanted to understand its inner workings, its natural laws and organizing principles that I might make life choices more consonant with reality in all its dimensions.
Viewed through the lens of art, my avid study of psychology, comparative religion, metaphysics, and mythology illuminated a strange looping relationship between subjective and objective realities, each shaping the other in Escheresque fashion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_Hands). The psyche, I observed, was like a garden carved from the wilderness of infinite possibilities. I could enhance the harvest of my personal experience by selectively cultivating particular ideas and visions. Tilling the ground of the future with relentless curiosity about what lay beneath the surface I uncovered unnecessary limitations, removed stones of cynicism, and weeded out pernicious attitudes. I pruned overgrown beliefs and composted them with memories of lessons learned from both my mistakes and triumphs. I enriched the soil by adding more optimism, more trust, more appreciation, the understanding that rainfall and sunlight, shadow and light, are equally important for the healthy growth of my soul, and I woke one day to find myself occupying a life I wanted to live, inspired to share what I'd found.
Living in an era in which the media bombards and manipulates us with images of shocking, unsavory, and often distorted “truths,” I feel an urgency to create art that challenges assumptions and reminds the viewer of the deep psychological resources with which personal reality may be altered and enriched in any moment. Above all, I want to uplift the human Spirit with beauty and inspire the viewer to wonder: What? How? Why? What if?
In the creative space conjured by pencil, pen or charcoal pressed against paper, I found ordinary features of the landscape to be metaphorms, natural expressions of the otherwise invisible psychological dynamics behind observable reality. While I drew a tree bent by the wind, an inner voice whispered that I too had the capacity to bend and adapt to the storms that inevitably assail us all. The sea, it cooed, is an apt metaphor for the unfathomable depths of consciousness, the tidal ebb and flow of emotion dictated by the moon, which is, in turn, the embodiment of eternal change paradoxically constant in its relentless cycling. And so it went, a soft voice offering pithy insights into the forms emerging from paper or canvas.
Drawing was no longer a solitary pursuit, but part of an internal dialogue that taught me that we live in a web of living symbols. I had reached a point in my psychological and artistic development of no longer being satisfied by merely mimicking superficial reality; I wanted to understand its inner workings, its natural laws and organizing principles that I might make life choices more consonant with reality in all its dimensions.
Viewed through the lens of art, my avid study of psychology, comparative religion, metaphysics, and mythology illuminated a strange looping relationship between subjective and objective realities, each shaping the other in Escheresque fashion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_Hands). The psyche, I observed, was like a garden carved from the wilderness of infinite possibilities. I could enhance the harvest of my personal experience by selectively cultivating particular ideas and visions. Tilling the ground of the future with relentless curiosity about what lay beneath the surface I uncovered unnecessary limitations, removed stones of cynicism, and weeded out pernicious attitudes. I pruned overgrown beliefs and composted them with memories of lessons learned from both my mistakes and triumphs. I enriched the soil by adding more optimism, more trust, more appreciation, the understanding that rainfall and sunlight, shadow and light, are equally important for the healthy growth of my soul, and I woke one day to find myself occupying a life I wanted to live, inspired to share what I'd found.
Living in an era in which the media bombards and manipulates us with images of shocking, unsavory, and often distorted “truths,” I feel an urgency to create art that challenges assumptions and reminds the viewer of the deep psychological resources with which personal reality may be altered and enriched in any moment. Above all, I want to uplift the human Spirit with beauty and inspire the viewer to wonder: What? How? Why? What if?
If Men Had Wings
Circles of Light
Circles of Light* is series of mandalas designed to illuminate the natural metaphysical laws which organize and influence our perceptions of reality. The word mandala comes from the Sanskrit for magic circle or center. Beyond structural strength and grace, the magic of the mandala lies in its unique ability to transcend the push and pull of polar opposites such as left-right, top-bottom, positive-negative, light-dark, in-out, etc. and transform them into something greater than the sum of contrasting parts. Beauty and harmony are achieved, not through uniformity, but unity as contrasting elements mutually define and balance one another. The mandala is a metaphor for the individual, society, and Life itself. In the context of the circle even the most perplexing and painful contradictions are understood to be part of a larger pattern and purpose.
Although the intent behind this series is to illustrate particular concepts, the ideas herein are subject to the limits and demands of the images. More important than understanding specific symbols or concepts is the viewer’s experience of harmony and beauty that is the universal language of the mandala. Direct perception of balance and wholeness speaks louder than words.
Although the intent behind this series is to illustrate particular concepts, the ideas herein are subject to the limits and demands of the images. More important than understanding specific symbols or concepts is the viewer’s experience of harmony and beauty that is the universal language of the mandala. Direct perception of balance and wholeness speaks louder than words.
"Man is the Resonating Agent Between Heaven and Earth" - Circles of Light
Jose Arguelles said it best, "Man is the Resonating Agent Between Heaven and Earth."
Synergizing the creative power of spirit/consciousness with the organic realm of matter,
human beings ride the wave front of the Creator’s desire for self-knowledge and expansion.
Synergizing the creative power of spirit/consciousness with the organic realm of matter,
human beings ride the wave front of the Creator’s desire for self-knowledge and expansion.
"Beyond the Visible" - Circles of Light
Beyond the Visible
Spirit, the intangible essence that animates all living
creatures, like most truly important stuff (oxygen, energy, joy, love)
is invisible. There’s more to reality than what meets the eye.
Spirit, the intangible essence that animates all living
creatures, like most truly important stuff (oxygen, energy, joy, love)
is invisible. There’s more to reality than what meets the eye.
"Thou Shalt Follow Thy Bliss" - Circles of Light
Thou Shalt Follow Thy Bliss
Ten Commandments for living a life of purpose
and joyful growth could be reduced to this: Follow thy bliss.
Ten Commandments for living a life of purpose
and joyful growth could be reduced to this: Follow thy bliss.
"Free to Be Unique" - Circles of Light
Free to Be Unique The Divine delights in diversity. We are each a unique piece in the
puzzle of wholeness. If you want to be someone special, why not be yourself?
puzzle of wholeness. If you want to be someone special, why not be yourself?
"Continuous Creation" - Circles of Light
Continuous Creation
The world is in a perpetual state of renewal, decay and re-creation.
It’s not going to stop and wait for us to get our stuff in order. Every thought, word
and action has creative power-- now! What are you creating?
The world is in a perpetual state of renewal, decay and re-creation.
It’s not going to stop and wait for us to get our stuff in order. Every thought, word
and action has creative power-- now! What are you creating?
"Delicious Diversity" - Circles of Light
Delicious Diversity Limited only by the beliefs and imagination of the human
mind, all the raw ingredients necessary for a joyful life are present on the
planet today. Don’t like what’s being served? Learn how to cook.
mind, all the raw ingredients necessary for a joyful life are present on the
planet today. Don’t like what’s being served? Learn how to cook.
"Self-Appreciation" - Circles of Light
Self Appreciation Happiness is a butterfly; the more you pursue it, the more it eludes
you, but all manner of blessings come to those who are able to sit quietly and appreciate
the miracle of self incarnate and supported by the entire web of life.
you, but all manner of blessings come to those who are able to sit quietly and appreciate
the miracle of self incarnate and supported by the entire web of life.
"Mirror Mind" - Circles of Light
Mirror Mind “Man’s mind is a mirror of a universe that mirrors man’s mind.”
Joseph Chilton Pearce.
Seeing is believing, but we only allow ourselves to see what we believe.
Joseph Chilton Pearce.
Seeing is believing, but we only allow ourselves to see what we believe.
"Dance of Shiva" - Circles of Light
Dance of Shiva The dance of creation is lock-stepped to the dance of destruction.
Life flows rhythmically, eternally, out of death, and death out of life.
Life flows rhythmically, eternally, out of death, and death out of life.
"Yin-Yang, The Supreme Ultimate" - Circles of Light
Yin & Yang, The Supreme Ultimate This drawing is a variation on the traditional icon
of ultimate reality, stressing the connection between conceptual and the natural worlds.
Opposites are balanced and unified in repeating cycles of perpetual change.
of ultimate reality, stressing the connection between conceptual and the natural worlds.
Opposites are balanced and unified in repeating cycles of perpetual change.
"Yang, The Creative Heaven" - Circles of Light
Yang, the Creative Heaven Symbolized by three unbroken lines in the Taoist book
of changes, the I Ching, Yang is the masculine principle of light, assertive action and intellect.
Yang can not be comprehended or fulfilled without the complementary energy of yin.
of changes, the I Ching, Yang is the masculine principle of light, assertive action and intellect.
Yang can not be comprehended or fulfilled without the complementary energy of yin.
"Yin, The Receptive Earth" - Circles of Light
Yin, the Receptive Earth Represented by three broken and yielding lines,
Yin is the feminine principle of darkness, receptive stillness and intuitive
knowing. Yin cannot be comprehended or fulfilled without yang.
Creation flows from the sacred union of opposites.
Yin is the feminine principle of darkness, receptive stillness and intuitive
knowing. Yin cannot be comprehended or fulfilled without yang.
Creation flows from the sacred union of opposites.
"Contrast" - Circles of Light
Contrast Dark and Light, as all opposites (hot-cold, wet-dry etc.),
are mutually definitive. You wouldn’t be able to read this white type if it appeared on the
same shade of white paper. Simultaneous contrast makes perception possible.
are mutually definitive. You wouldn’t be able to read this white type if it appeared on the
same shade of white paper. Simultaneous contrast makes perception possible.
The Creative Cycle" - Circles of Light
The Creative Cycle Creativity is an abiding process that unfolds organically whether materially
or conceptually in a synergistic dance of contrasting light and shadow, action and inaction, will and trust.
Wisdom resides in knowing where we are in the process and acting or waiting accordingly.
or conceptually in a synergistic dance of contrasting light and shadow, action and inaction, will and trust.
Wisdom resides in knowing where we are in the process and acting or waiting accordingly.
"Law of Attraction" - Circles of Light
Law of Attraction You’ve heard it before: Like attracts like.
Birds of a feather flock together. What you BE is what you get.
Birds of a feather flock together. What you BE is what you get.
"Pivot Point of Choice" - Circles of Light
Pivot Point of Choice The same vital power that creates life can also destroy it.
Every moment of every day we choose, whether consciously or
unconsciously, to call destruction to us through focusing on what we fear,
or to summon joy by looking for what is good and beautiful.
Every moment of every day we choose, whether consciously or
unconsciously, to call destruction to us through focusing on what we fear,
or to summon joy by looking for what is good and beautiful.
"Ripples" - Circles of Light
Ripples Every thought, every word, every action is a pebble dropped into the pool
of collective consciousness, sending waves of energy rippling in every direction.
How are you touching the hearts, minds and lives of people around you?
of collective consciousness, sending waves of energy rippling in every direction.
How are you touching the hearts, minds and lives of people around you?
"Abundance" - Circles of Light
Abundance Unlimited abundance flows freely from the invisible realm of potential
into the world of matter when we trust and allow things to unfold
in their own season and not insist on fulfillment in our own limited terms.
into the world of matter when we trust and allow things to unfold
in their own season and not insist on fulfillment in our own limited terms.
