I am a narrative figurative painter, my work is often mystically charged with symbolism that attempts to tap into the archetypes in humanity's collective unconscious. In doing so, my aim is to subtly evoke mass appeal in my work without compromising my individual artistic vision.
While this sounds as though there is one universal formula for aesthetic experience of my work, it's not so simple. This elusive aesthetic experience is highly subjective, based on individual life experience and cultural upbringing. Its the reason why something like listening to Mahler's 8th symphony may move one person to tears and another to be simply bored to tears. To make matters worse, the human mind likes to identify itself as the sole identity of the individual as reflected in the words “I think therefore I am” The mind is a metaphorical watch-dog by which it believes that all sensual experience should be measured and judged by. It triggers responses like “should I like this?” In a modern society where rationality is so prized, an emotional or intuitive response to art may be often road-blocked by reason, effectively trapping it's beauty within the confines of its high tower. This trend can become downright unhealthy if the mind also blocks the natural flow of the irrational unconscious upon our rational consciousness.
Suppose you were to cross this barrier of conscious thought, you'd be flooded by rich dream imagery filled with personal meaning to the individual's life experience. However, venture far enough in the underworld of the unconscious and you will eventually arrive at what Carl Jung termed collective unconscious, a dream-scape of inherited collective memories of our species. Its a place where ancient shamans and priests were expected to be initiated into, delve into madness, face our archetypes, then return to our world enlightened. Its where the average person unwittingly becomes trapped into in a state of psychosis, unequipped to swim back out of this terrifying place where our collective gods, angels and demons reside. It's common visual metaphors are documented in all cultures in the form of universal themes within the human mythos. This is the language that artists, poets and musicians must master – consciously or intuitively, in order for their work to transcend the abyss of meaninglessness and reach the eternal, communicating esoteric truths about the human spirit across generations of human evolution.
The question still remains, how does one transcend the barriers of rational discrimination? In ancient Greek myth, Hermes, on his descent to the underworld to rescue Persephone, was said to have had to distract the three-headed hound Cerberus with honey cakes in order to move on to deeper realms. The honey cake is a metaphor for the artist's display of technical mastery and virtuosity at his particular medium, the means to satisfy the intellectual demands of our ever evolving brains. Its as though the artist must play the role of a snake charmer in order to communicate the ineffable. Its my firm belief that the success of visual stimuli upon the viewer depends on how much the art penetrates the conscious mind and resonates with the unconscious hidden truths about the Self. This is the place where the the seemingly opposites in the realm of rational thought converge harmoniously, transcending reason altogether, the house of Beauty.
Extending the dialogue of human experience across lifetimes is an important facet of my work, as such I've chosen the traditional medium of oil paint on linen. The academic foundation to my technique allows me to depict contemporary subjects in a visual language that appears timeless. The journey into this cycle of paintings began with Nativity in Black, where I used an archetypal Stephen King antagonist as a starting point to a narrative arch within my own work. I began to tap into an allegory I had not yet fully understood, so I continued to paint on intuition while studying the actual symbolic language that was to be the defining mark of work. I extended the narrative into Dusk of the Dead where I found an opportunity to express the general mood of America in the 2008 economic collapse using the modern zombie myth as a metaphor. At the final stages of Dusk I worked on Black Rose Immortal, where I was better able to express esoteric principles in a veiled manner. I was drawing a corresponding line between musical counterpoint and the arabesque form seen in all organic life and accentuated in great works of art. This charcoal drawing was named after a song by Swedish metal band Opeth, the composition of the still life was a mirror image of the 13th guitar riff in the actual song. There is more within the drawing, but this covers it's surface meaning.
Music had become a major source of inspiration for my work, so I continued to channel its influence in my next pieces. Paint it Black was borne out of an anguished self-portrait and morphed into an invocation of the Greek god of the underworld – Hades. It depicts spring as Persephone leaves the underworld to bring life into our world leaving Hades to his own personal winter. The separation of masculine and feminine forms is obvious in the composition. The Apostle in Triumph is yet another painting named after a song. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn called this archetype Magus of the Voice of Light. I like that name, yet I gave it a name that implies one's attainment to enlightenment to be a movement upwards. The Hermit is in fact descending into our world from above, therefore its a veiled invocation of supreme consciousness -Veni Creator Spiritus. This was an intentional paradox so that the painting is open to interpretation based on the individual's point of view, the resolution between “aboveness” and “belowness” is a mystery to be understood only by individual experience. On a psychoanalytical level this painting shows how we can harness inner light to expose the chaotic hidden forces in the enchanted forest of our unconscious. Only then can we gain any level of self-actualization.
In The Truth I turned my attention back to my own past and expressed the pain of the soul crushed by organized indoctrination, while still hinting at individual free-will. Using the more sophisticated occult symbolism harvested from my studies, I've embarked on a project inspired by Aleister Crowley and Frida Harris' Thoth Tarot. This project currently under progress attempts to bring together mysticism, Jungian psychology and modern science in the language of figurative art. The aim of this titanic undertaking is to depict Truth veiled in Beauty beyond duality. The paintings included are the first in my own future deck, but more importantly, they are studies for future larger, life-size paintings.
After years of personal turmoil, solitude and a spiritual transition from a repressive background, I've realized this thesis. My ultimate motivation for painting is to offer humanity something I've not yet seen, a point of view that needs to exist, Art's own unified field theory.
---As edited by Chris----
I am a narrative figurative painter. My work is charged with mystic symbolism tapping into the archetypes of humanity's collective unconscious. My aim is to evoke mass appeal without compromising my artistic vision.
The human mind finds its identity utilizing Cartesean dualism with the maxim “Cogito ergo sum”. Each individual in the audience's aesthetics are defined by their culture and experiences forcing them to ask “Should I like this?” Emotion, not reason rules in the visual arts affecting the viewer on a visceral level which is kept in check by reason and the solar logos. I strive to connect with them on a subconscious level by summoning up rich dream imagery eliciting personal meaning colored by their soul and tapping into Jung's collective unconscious. A place of madness and magickal archetypes which give new perspective in the empirical world. The language of artists, musicians and poets are drawn from this resevoir. Using the same language with different syntax, i.e. their medium, the great work acquires significance which transcends the ages.
An artist must play the role of psychopomp (conductor of souls, delete this parenthetical thought) to capture attention. Rapt, they see form given to the formless with new venues and vistas laying open to their third eye which speaks directly to the heart. The success of visual stimuli upon the viewer depends on how deeply the artist transcends the conscious mind and achieves beauty.
The importance of extending the dialogue of human experience across lifetimes helped me choose the traditional medium of oil paint on linen. The academic foundation to my technique allows me to depict contemporary subjects with timeless visual language. The journey into this cycle of paintings began with Nativity in Black where I used an archetypal Stephen King antagonist as a starting point to a narrative arc. Working from intuition I incorporated symbolic language which defined the piece. The story of Dusk of the Dead captures the general mood of America during the 2008 economic collapse using the modern zombie myth as a framework. During the final stages of Dusk I began Black Rose Immortal which best expressed subtle, esoteric principles drawing correspondences between musical counterpoint and arabesque forms found in life and honored in fine art.
Music is a major source of inspiration for my work. I continue to channel its influence in each successive piece. Paint it Black was borne out of an anguished self-portrait morphing into an invocation of Hades. Depicting the myth of Persephone as she leaves the underworld returning life to the mortal realm as her consort suffers his personal winter of the soul. The Apostle in Triumph's title reflects the title of a favorite song. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn called this archetype Magus of the Voice of Light. I like that name and I gave it a name that implies one's attainment to enlightenment to ascendancy. The Hermit is in fact descending into our world from above, therefore its a veiled invocation of supreme consciousness -Veni Creator Spiritus. An intentional paradox so the painting is open to interpretation that plays with the witnesses. The resolution between “aboveness” and “belowness” is a mystery to be understood with dream logic. On a psychoanalytical level this painting shows how to harness inner light exposing the chaotic hidden forces in the enchanted forest of our unconscious. Only then can one acquire any level of self-actualization.
In The Truth I turned my attention back to my own past and expressed the pain of the soul crushed by organized indoctrination hinting at individual free-will. Using the sophisticated occult symbolism harvested from my studies I've embarked on a project inspired by Aleister Crowley and Frida Harris' Thoth Tarot. This project will bring together mysticism, Jungian psychology and modern science using the language of figurative art. My aim of this opus is to depict Truth veiled in Beauty beyond duality. The paintings included are the first in my future deck and will serve as studies for future paintings.
After years of personal turmoil, solitude and a spiritual transition from a repressive background I have realized this thesis. My ultimate motivation for painting is to offer humanity something I've not yet seen, a point of view that needs to exist, Art's own unified field theory.
-----------Tentative final draft-------
I am a narrative figurative painter. My work is charged with mystic symbolism tapping into the archetypes of humanity's collective unconscious. My aim is to evoke mass appeal without compromising my artistic vision.
The human mind finds its identity utilizing Cartesean dualism with the maxim “Cogito ergo sum”. Each individual in the audience's aesthetics are defined by their culture and experiences forcing them to ask “Should I like this?” Emotion, not reason rules in the visual arts affecting the viewer on a visceral level which is kept in check by reason and the solar logos. I strive to connect with them on a subconscious level by summoning up rich dream imagery eliciting personal meaning colored by their soul and tapping into Jung's collective unconscious. A place of madness and magickal archetypes which give new perspective in the empirical world. The language of artists, musicians and poets are drawn from this reservoir. Using the same language with different syntax, i.e. their medium, the great work acquires significance which transcends the ages.
An artist must play the role of psychopomp to capture attention. Rapt, they see form given to the formless with new venues and vistas laying open to their third eye which speaks directly to the heart. The success of visual stimuli upon the viewer depends on how deeply the artist transcends the conscious mind and achieves beauty.
The importance of extending the dialogue of human experience across lifetimes helped me choose the traditional medium of oil paint on linen. The academic foundation to my technique allows me to depict contemporary subjects with timeless visual language. The journey into this cycle of paintings began with Nativity in Black where I used an archetypal Stephen King antagonist as a starting point to a narrative arc. Working from intuition I incorporated symbolic language which defined the piece. The story of Dusk of the Dead captures the general mood of America during the 2008 economic collapse using the modern zombie myth as a framework. During the final stages of Dusk I began Black Rose Immortal which best expressed subtle, esoteric principles drawing correspondences between musical counterpoint and arabesque forms found in life and honored in fine art.
Music is a major source of inspiration for my work. I continue to channel its influence in each successive piece. Paint it Black was borne out of an anguished self-portrait morphing into an invocation of Hades. Depicting the myth of Persephone as she leaves the underworld returning life to the mortal realm as her consort suffers his personal winter of the soul. The Apostle in Triumph's title reflects the title of a favorite song. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn called this archetype Magus of the Voice of Light. I like that name, but gave it a name that implies one's attainment to enlightenment to ascendancy. The Hermit is in fact descending into our world from above, therefore its a veiled invocation of supreme consciousness -Veni Creator Spiritus. It's an intentional paradox so the painting is open to interpretation that plays with the witnesses. The resolution between “aboveness” and “belowness” is a mystery to be understood through subjective experience and dream logic. On a psychoanalytical level this painting shows how to harness inner light exposing the chaotic hidden forces in the enchanted forest of our unconscious. Only then can one acquire any level of self-actualization.
In The Truth I turned my attention back to my own past and expressed the pain of the soul crushed by organized indoctrination while hinting at individual free-will. Using the sophisticated occult symbolism harvested from my studies I've embarked on a project inspired by Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris' Thoth Tarot. This project will bring together mysticism, Jungian psychology and modern science using the language of figurative art. My aim for this opus is to depict Truth veiled in Beauty beyond duality. The paintings included are the first in my future deck and will serve as studies for future paintings.
After years of personal turmoil, solitude and a spiritual transition from a repressive background I have realized this thesis. My ultimate motivation for painting is to offer humanity something I've not yet seen, a point of view that needs to exist, Art's own unified field theory.
