Essence

When I am working in my studio my consciousness shifts through several different dimensions where all things are possible. The ESSENCE of this experience is DISCOVERY.  I just can’t wait to see what happens when certain colors react to each other or how a particular surface will look when it dries.  This is something that I cannot totally control and the magic of this moment is the razor sharp edge of loss of control where happy “accidents” happen.

The writer Robert Anton Wilson calls this the “Cosmic Trigger” which also implies one of the most important aspects of great art, a sense of humor.  As artists when we connect to this “Use the Force Luke” state of mind paintings seem to paint themselves and poems write themselves. What I am speaking about here is primarily however is the fine art of abstract painting and particularly ways of seeing the ESSENCE of spiritual or metaphysical experiences manifested within the creation and appreciation of art.

While I appreciate representational art I mainly prefer to work in what I consider to be “pure painting” where the medium is the meaning beyond words.

When we visit major art galleries and museums we are often looking for something more than we find offered by organized religion or popular culture. I believe that we are looking for something to believe in beyond our everyday experiences. Ideally what we would find is a personal connection to a higher awareness and consciousness that connects us all to the same origin.

I believe that this involves the shared memory of the experience of and connection to the first human marks made with mud blood and bone.  As early humans we discovered the process of painting with pigments DISSOLVED and INFUSED with water to allow their application.

And since our bodies are mostly water I believe we have a direct gut level connection to paint which affects us in ways beyond our usual cognitive processes.  These fluids provided ways of seeing that accelerated human cultural development through the portable transfer of information.  Our essence as souls inhabiting bodies has collected traces and artifacts of ancient events which define us as unique beings.

As we understood that solar illumination and other forces COAGULATED our media it became portable and capable of trade.  As we transcended fear and rerouted survival impulses toward future goals art as a cultural entity became possible.

There is evidence that early painting was not a separate activity from others in the life of our early ancestors.  Painting was not only used to create the illusion of images but to actually change our environment which in turn changed and is still changing us.

In the past the artist fulfilled the roles of scientist and philosopher, and arbiter and definer beauty.   It seems that in many ways art making has become more specialized more commercial and less spiritual in modern industrialized society. This is especially true with painting which competes for audiences with film and electronic media. Yet as science has informed art and art has informed science each has had a profound effect on how we see and interact with our universe.  Art has inspired science with the vision to move into areas previously unexplored.  Likewise science has provided technical information to art which has increased the understanding of the nature, of space, time, and specific attributes of matter. As invisible energies are revealed and studied art embraces a deeper involvement and understanding which transcends the generally accepted visible world. So as science defines our world the process of artistic discovery enriches and expands the realm of scientific inquiry.  This is why I believe that no matter how technological our culture becomes we will keep returning to painting as a way to connect us in ways that other media cannot.

About Art and Healing

I believe that through a process of visualization and constructive contemplation that is possible not only to manifest a healing process but for us to actually control and rearrange our genetic structure in positive ways.

This may sound unbelievable but many scientific discoveries have revealed truths previously considered to be merely theoretical.

For example, until the discovery of infrared and ultraviolet light we had no way to see what realities existed in those realms.   With the development of devices to access those waveforms we have gained access and they are now commonly used in many medical therapies.

In the same way that our body functions occur on many levels I believe that art can and has functioned for many people as a kind of road map to guide a soul toward a particular path, frequency or dimension.

Now back to Science and Art

As artists we have been provided with so much new information about our universe that it is very difficult to digest into our traditional views of reality. I have always been interested in science and excited and informed by new scientific discoveries. In my opinion it is important for artists to have a broad understanding of the structure of the universe.  Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics" published in 1976 introduced the art world to Quantum particle physics in ways that permanently rearranged our understanding of the cosmos in radical ways.

Most recently I have been inspired by satellite photography and images from the Hubble telescope.

This has provided a fascinating experience for me.  What I have discovered is an amazing connection between patterns found in nature on every level of observation. Not that I believe that reality can be defined mathematically but quite the contrary.

In the same way that scientists have not been able to find any repeating patterns in the calculations of PI for example. I believe that infinite manifestations of reality exist on every level of creation.  Yet where I have found comfort is in the inherent beauty revealed within the character, strengths and weakness of all things in nature.

I find this most demonstrably revealed through the invisible forces of the process of EROSION.  EROSION is caused by many invisible forces including not only wind, rain, solar radiation, and gravity but a multitude of others.  I have discovered that the character of patterns developed through EROSION is very similar to growth and decay patterns found throughout our natural world.

So what is the value of this concept?

For me it implies an inherent beauty in that we can see that on every level our universe is not merely a manifestation of sheer random occurrences but an exquisite and elegant orchestration of creation that occurs on levels far beyond our comprehension.  Thus for me the mystery and richness of being is enriched by this understanding and its application to our lives.

So to complete this circle inquiry my experiences with these ESSENCES have DISSOLVED many of my previous INFUSIONS and COAGULATED them into a personal mythology within which I can explore in very satisfying ways.