Dark Stirrings (continued)

Following on from my last blog, here are some more dark stirrings painted in watercolour using mainly indigo with hints of other colours.

Dark Stirrings

There are times in my life when I feel swamped by darkness for whatever reason - it may be triggered by current circumstances or it could be a 'dark night of the soul' that hopefully will pass. Thomas Moore wrote, (in his book with that title) that if you find yourself in the dark belly of the whale, all you can do is to be there and be carried by it. The other thing that he suggested was that you might find your own way of expressing it - whether it be through music, poetry or art, etc. Here are a few 'dark stirrings' from the belly of the whale....

Be Still

'Be Still' is my second piece following our trip to Iceland. Often the most profound landscapes are the quiet ones - those you have to be still in order to fully 'receive'. The title is taken from the words 'Be still and know that I am God' of course and looking at this beautiful and subtle landscape, I had the sense that God was in his heaven and all was right with the world. Since returning to the 'real world' after our trip, much has happened to challenge this but I will always have the painting and the memory to remind me.

The Northern Lights

We have recently returned from a short break in Iceland where we were lucky enough to experience the Northern Lights. I have created my first pastel interpretation of them on black card and really enjoyed the ephemeral nature of the subject. Most of the pastel was applied to my fingers first and then to the surface which was a very subtle technique - echoing the way that the lights gradually emerged from a hint through to a dancing, intense display.