The soul of the newly born baby is marked for life by the pattern of the stars at the moment it comes into the world, unconsciously remembers it, and remains sensitive to the return of configurations of a similar kind. ― Johannes Kepler, Harmonies Of The World
This one was fun to create! I thought of zodiac signs, their symbols and colours. The idea was to make them archetypal, simple and suggestive. My intention was to capture the basic mood of each sign with colours.
I used one big canvas 40 x 50 cm for background, on which I’ve painted 4 elements: fire, earth, air and water. I’ve made elements in columns as the frame for their associated sign. Little remainder: Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) – Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) – Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) – Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces).
I used 12 little canvases 10×10 cm to paint each zodiac sign. When dry, I hot-glued them to the big canvas.
I believe that we all seek that True love. Unity of body, heart and soul – interwoven and in harmony. Often this is lifelong search, often this is never found. But sometimes you find it. And that does not mean that the pain or yearning is over. It is never easy to love. But it is worth all the troubles, because the love is truly yours – not the other person’s. You feel it, you have it, you live it.
This is somewhat small painting, but I did put all my energy and emotions in this piece and I for me is strong, I almost feel that my soul glows on it. I’ve painted it in a difficult and highly emotional state of mind.
Symbolism is rather obvious: blood for Body, heart for Heart and glowing light for the Soul. Frame of old gold, symbolises the patina on the heart, from past injuries and aces.
The background is dark teal, because it contrasts red and gold. I made faux-frame with the palette knife, pressing it along the edges to leave the texture. When the painting was finished, I made dripping blood with the glue gun and painted it.
Listen, are we helpless? Are we doomed to do it again and again and again? Have we no choice but to play the Phoenix in an unending sequence of rise and fall? – Walter M. Miller
I love the texture and play of the light as it moves across the painting.
So, first I squeezed paint directly onto canvas (black and gold). Than pressed down and lifted plastic foil several times, untill I got desired surface. Than I painted silhouette following the contours of surface.
When choosing the colours, I thought of fire and flames burning from deep red, bright red, orange, yellow to blue – so I’ve used that palette to paint the Phoenix. I finished it with touches of gold.
Looking at the paintings of “Natural phenomena” series, it came to me that each brings strong symbolism and deeper meaning that can be linked to tarot and runes. From the beginning of time, our ancestors worshiped and feared great forces of nature. They personified them and made them Gods or spirits. They bring archetypal meaning deeply imprinted in our collective conciseness.
The whole idea started to envelope when I stumbled upon the tarot card “Tower” on the internet. It instantly reminded me of the meteor painting. So I started to ruminate over other paintings and their correlation to tarot or rune.
I will use Raider-Waite deck for this post because It is best known deck even amongst people that don’t share interest in occult or esoteric. Pictures are shown in increasing order by numbers of Major Arcana cards. (The deck I use for my personal meditation and contemplation is Arthurian tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson Legend-arthurian tarot, which embodies mysterious appeal of tarot and dark age legends likewise. Oh, and dragons, too). Runes are elder futhark.
Those are my associations, I’m sure that there are plenty of different opinions how to match tarot cards with runes, let alone this paintings.
Volcano is strong and unpredictable force, often used to describe someone temperamental, like the lion, untamed beast. When lion is tamed he is warm, timid and cuddly, but always keeping his wild side inside-like magma boiling inside the sleeping volcano. Eruption of volcano is destructive force, but when lava hardens it creates. It can heal. It’s ash nourishes the soil. Volcanos gases form planet’s atmosphere – it basically gives us life. Uruz symbolises life force, endurance, formation, healing, manifestation – and so embodies all concepts of Volcano and tarot card Strength. And zodiac sign Leo – bold and strong and passionate.
If we look at northern lights in the sense of spiritual lights and search, then The hermit becomes obvious. Isa means ice and signifies coldness, isolation, stillness, but it urges you to move forward, because If you don’t find your way out, you will be dead. Death can be spiritual, emotional, not just physical. It’s like the hermit card in some aspects. The Virgo – rational and patient, enduring but wise and kind. General message of this trio is to dive into coldness end isolation to emerge enlightened.
Few man need Fortuna like the sailors, for ages they are toys of Faith. Every journey depends on wheel of fortune, as in life. Sometimes the see is still and beautiful and sometimes is wild and dangeros. Perthro is the rune of fate, luck, unknown, universal law of cause and effect. The wheel of fortune rotates infinitely and no one knows for sure what future brings. And what will the planet of luck, Jupiter’s constellations bring.
I named this painting sun is hiding – because the sun is there, it is only transitional state, and darkness passes. Tarot card Death is similar. It’s ominous look is frightening, but the key concept of this card is beginning through ending, change, transformation, transition. Ansuz also speaks of transition, ancestors, transformation. Like the Scorpio, that mysterious, dark, yet deep and warm sign – changeable and transformational in its nature. So I think that the general theme here is change, life cycles- the necessity to get rid of what is no longer useful and begin the new chapter in our life.
Oooh, The tower! – I think that most of us thinks that when that card appears in the reading. It is card of destruction – like Uranus its planet ruler – or like meteor impact. They all bring chaos, shock, they are sudden and unpredicted. They drastically and swiftly sake you to the bones. But! This is not necessarily bad, it makes you question your beliefs, like death (and it is linked to Death card – Scorpio whose ruling planets are Mars and Uranus) – and brings change. Although Fefu is mostly seen like positive rune, it also brings the concept of new beginnings, failure, and energy – matching the tower meaning.
The moon is mysterious and deep, signifies intuition, psychic powers and deep emotions. It also evokes illusion and dreams. Like the Laguz rune. Moon being the ruling planet of zodiac sign cancer, gives that moonchild all that gifts (and sometimes burdens)., and makes it volatile like moon phases. Being cancer myself, I know that Moon, oh so well.
I imagined this painting without many details, just the play of lights when sun is almost completely hidden. I wanted to catch that moment just before the total dark.
Love the symbolism and message that eclipse brings: sun is here, although we can’t see it. It is only hidden, not completely gone and it will soon be shining bright. Like in life, no dark is forever.
Technically, it was simple. I attached cardboard circle with scotch tape on black painted canvas. I have gradually built the image around that black circle. As shown on pics below.
An asteroid impact would be a natural disaster on a scale that is hard to imagine. Unlike catastrophic volcanic eruptions or earthquakes, an asteroid impact is preventable. Humankind’s first step is finding the devil’s in the dark. Let’s get going. –Bill Nye
I had very clear vision about this painting. I imagined it with warm and bright colours, with bold, thick and somewhat messy brush strokes in the front plane. Background supposed to be cooler, more subtle and a bit hazy as to emphasize the strength and atrocity of the meteor impact.
Technically, this was simple. Black under paint, blue Earth and with the semi-dry brush and small amount of paint I’ve painted the nebulae and space. With wet brush and white paint I made splashes as stars. When dry, several thick layers of paint made fire, flames and sparks. Finally, when this was dry, I added rock with palette knife.
This is the second of six canvases in „Natural phenomena” paintings series (Volcano eruption, Sea storm, Meteor impact, Blue moon, Aurora borealis, Solar eclipse).
My vision was to create strong image which evokes feeling of power and chaos. So I instantly thought of “dirty thunderstorm” and lava bursting to the air. Oh, and LOVE to paint fire and flames :).
First step was to prepare the canvas. I covered it with black paint. Then, For the main magma flow, I squeezed paint onto canvas, put plastic foil on it and lift it, several times until I was happy with the result. Then I pressed the foil with traces of paint onto the canvas on sporadically to create magma bursts.
Black paint over canvas
Paint for lava
Plastic foil
First layer
With the pallet knife I applied the paint to create the rock than scraped off the paint from most underpaint peaky spots for volcanic veins.
I’ve painted the fumes with the dry brush with very little paint on it. When dry, all it’s left is thunder – bold strikes of paint smeared when almost dry.
“Blue moon” is the first of six canvases in „Natural phenomena” paintings series. This series of paintings started with the idea to paint beautiful occurrences in the nature, but it turns out that most of the painted scenes are catastrophic (volcano, storm, meteor) or dark (like the moon, aurora borealis, solar eclipse).
It wasn’t my intention at first, but as the theme developed, it became clear that the seduction of mysterious and dark side of Mother Nature is strong.
Creation of painting was simple, without any tricks. Mountings were painted using palette knife.
Below are photos of painting stages, as well as finished painting and details.
I was thinking of the air.. how to paint something that couldn’t be seen?
But then, I can feel it. I can feel the air, the breeze, the wind. I can feel in colors. To me the air is blue and white, and sometimes black, sometimes with gold and silver and pearl.
So I’ve chosen light blue, white and black paint and put it on canvas, applied plastic foil several times and there was the air.
Ever wander how do dragon’s eyes look? Here they are in the plate 😉
(I use dried paint from the paint tube top).
Black, white and blue
Foiled
More paint
Dragon’s eyes
When I lifted the foil, I looked at the unfinished picture to find my dragon. So he finally came flying from above.
Plain air
Dragon is coming
I’ve painted thick layers of white and gold paint as feathers, added dreid paint eye and the Air dragon was finished.
For, after all, you do grow up, you do outgrow your ideals, which turn to dust and ashes, which are shattered into fragments; and if you have no other life, you just have to build one up out of these fragments. And all the time your soul is craving and longing for something else. And in vain does the dreamer rummage about in his old dreams, raking them over as though they were a heap of cinders, looking in these cinders for some spark, however tiny, to fan it into a flame so as to warm his chilled blood by it and revive in it all that he held so dear before, all that touched his heart, that made his blood course through his veins, that drew tears from his eyes, and that so splendidly deceived him!
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky, White Nights and Other Stories
The process of creating this painting was intuitive. I had only the concept in my head, not the clear vision. I let my subconscious lead the way.
The technique is same as for the other paintings: squeezing the paint on to canvas, smearing it with foil.
Squeeze
Smear
Lifting the foil, I saw it! I saw my dragon rushing from the fire.
Can you see ?
See?
Oh, yes!
I’ve painted the dragon, added some details, eyes (next time I will show you dragon eyes) and that was that.
Josipa'S Art 