P254 Woman Curling in on Herself

P254 Woman Curling in on Herself
72x72” polyptych
Oil on linen, mounted on 9 panels
$3,600.00

The vector is a spiral, the woman curled in on herself in the centre or beginning of the spiral, though this node is off-centre of the overall canvas square. The woman appears to be vanishing into the vortex, or she might be coming out of it.

The spiral repeats itself in my other work; the inner curl, to the soul, the personal universe, and outward curl to all that is beyond us. Then there is the upward curl that is escape, the winding away from chaos to isolation or sanctuary.

I have always considered that solitude an important part of my creative process. Even the feeling of loneliness, with its accompanying sadness, is essential to reflection and invention. The child alone, for example, invents imaginary worlds and characters. The little artist moves his creatures around the panel or the page, and places objects there for their amusement.

A spiral in a teacup, a little tempest of movement as we raise it to our lips, the gesture casual, the glance drawn downward, into ourselves. A glimpse of our own reflected image.

An Ultramarine scrawl finds its way around a shell. It bolts along some edges and then disappears into a dark hole I made.

A snail emerges, like a sluggish tongue. It seems to cleave the darkness as it squirms up out of chaos, dragging its cornucopia behind it.

Suddenly, another creature appears, backing tenderly out of the event horizon I drew on the very first day, stretching to drag the white chalk along with my spiralling gesture (...arms circling, spiral. It grows bigger and bigger until the gesture embraces all. Describing a universe with no words...)

Paleozoic Series