Gallery
Paintings
Falsely Identified (Monophalopod)
28”x 22” | Acrylic | Canvas
To identify as anything is to lose the essence of everything. If we consider each identity trait as a lens through which we filter the world, when we have placed an abundance of lenses between ourselves and the light of our own nature (soul, god, etc.) reality becomes obscured beyond perception. For those that ask “what is the meaning of all of this…..the meaning of life?” If the answer is sought peering through the kaleidoscopic lenses of identity, clarity will be in short supply. Only through the humble act of surrendering the lenses will we be reacquainted with the miraculous nature of our own being!
Potentiality (Magic Carpet Ride)
16"x16” | Acrylic and Graphite | Canvas
To a Contractor who possesses but a single hammer, opportunities will be few. In the same way, a person who navigates life using personality traits that are buoyed by memory and imagination, is limited to what those traits might yield. Sever the tight, binding ropes of memory and imagination, and meet with a stillness that will penetrate even the the most impermeable recesses of your personality. Trust that stillness and you will see miracles!
The Transcendence of Memory
60"x37” | Acrylic | Canvas
When a person releases their granite strong grip on life, when made to let go of memories, hurts, traumas, dramas, glories, triumphs, and even the need to remain alive at all, the creative force of the universe will radiate not only from the core of their being, but from all that they cast their gaze upon!
Love is not a transaction, it is the common thread that connects us all!
Apart
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
Let go of worry and observe the veil of negativism lifting from your life. Not to be confused with the "power of positive thinking" (which, let's face it, is a costume that denial wears), this abandonment of fear is truly better described as acceptance. Acceptance of challenge, acceptance of the chainsaw, the chisel, the file, and the sandpaper that has the ability to sculpt our lives, reducing us down to our very essence. If, that is, we have the humility and courage to trust Life.
When what was once considered unacceptable is met with acceptance in its many forms, the open heart and quiet mind are flooded by the true nature of Life itself.
Divine Spark
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
The slightest sliver of spark can move thousands of pounds of machinery with ease. If a human were to attempt to move the same piece of machinery using will power and hard work, it would become an exponentially more difficult task.
Carpenter
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
As the once powerful words printed on the yellowed, dog eared, and bookmarked pages of spiritual works lose their impact, it becomes clear that while those words temporarily guide their reader to freedom, they ultimately will have to be let go of in order to be fully realized. The fact is that many a spiritual teaching has been distorted into something that can be held on to and used as a vehicle for identity; something to be defended.
It is therefore my hope that one day this work and others like it, will be nothing more than something peculiar to hang on the wall, it’s symbolism a relic of a time before humanity touched it’s indwelling light.
Divine
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
Amidst the chaos of liberation, there is the feeling of losing ones marbles. This is the point of the spiritual journey. When the noise of marbles (thoughts) ping-ponging around in a persons mind subsides, all that is left is the immutable silence of nature. In that quiet, reality rises to the surface. In that quiet, a human being emerges from the darkness where difficulty is sewn, into the light that dissolves all complication. We are that light!!
Warrior/ess
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
If you break from the herd, the herd becomes weaker and you become free. If you remain with the herd, living a life designed for you by someone else, the herd is stronger but you will never taste the power that flows through heart and mind of one no longer distracted from the truth of who they are. Therefore ask yourself:
Who am I without my paycheque?
Who am I without my relationships?
Who am I without my culture?
Who am I without technology?
Who am I without my opinions?
Who am I without my past?
Who am I without my future?
Who am I if I stop thinking altogether?
Become the warrior/ess of your own soul and rise to the level of freedom!!
Guru's Song
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
Encapsulated within life’s most challenging moments lurks the opportunity to taste truth and freedom.
At some point in life we all experience loss, be it a job, relationship, a loved one passing on, or even our ability to socialize freely with one another. In opening our hearts and minds, and accepting whatever the outcome may be during these times, a person becomes less reliant on circumstance being favourable in order to feel complete or fulfilled.
May you walk, dear viewer, through the fire of pain and suffering unreservedly and without judgement, harnessing the light of the flame and using it to illuminate the path to freedom, all the while becoming a beacon of love for all those whose lives you touch!
Love yourself absolutely, accept all that arrives at the doorstep of your mind without prejudice. You will quickly realize that you are and always have been the guru of your own self!!
The Gambler
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
You are more than a thought. You are everything, and even the most elementary investigation, be it scientific, philosophical, or spiritual, will make that abundantly clear. Remember that at some point life will steal your past and future, so why not let go of them willingly? Empty your mind of thought and feel the power of your being!
Les Mains de Liberte
18” x 24” | Acrylic and Pencil | 140lb Watercolour Paper
Freedom is not a currency that can be given or stolen. It cannot be found in the rearranging of circumstance, nor in the denial of circumstance. Freedom exists in all things but is contained by none. It is as available to the poor as it the rich, though more easily accessed when unencumbered. It can’t be sought, though it waits patiently for you to return to it.
Where thought ends, freedom emerges. Playfully, with unending patience, and with the grace of nature, freedom emerges.
Venus
32″x 20″ | Acrylic on Canvas
“Venus” is a representation of the intelligence of the Universe, or what some may call Life, or God. That intelligence transcends the relatively minor intelligence of the human mind. In this case the Universal intelligence is represented by the butterfly. The eye pattern allows him to see beyond the trappings that are created by the superficial human mind. That superficiality is displayed by the rigid and fading wooden Venus fly trap. Its roots are shallow and no light shines from its window. The butterfly moves freely and is not taken in by complicated illusion.
Unconditional Life
60″x 40″ | Acrylic on Canvas
Imagine the freedom that you would experience if there had been nobody around to give you a belief system!!! Remove the layers of conditioned thought about who you are and what you should be doing, and allow the gifts that you have been given to shine through and elevate those around you to do the same. When you see the houses of cards that you have been told to hold on high begin to collapse, you will be able to do anything for it is at this moment that you will realize that you never had anything to lose.
Life Unknown
21” x 13” | Acrylic on Canvas
You have a choice to make right now. In fact it is a choice that you will have to make time and time and time again throughout your life. Choosing to climb a ladder, built by cowards, is to choose a sort of living death. Choosing to embrace the unknown and have faith in whatever talents and abilities that life has gifted you (we all have something) is courage. Knowledge is limited, the unknown is infinite. Fear certainty and embrace life, unknown.
Wisdom Immeasurable
36″x 25″ | Acrylic on Canvas
The insight of wisdom is attained only when we loosen our grip on the measuring tape of our minds.
From a very young age we are conditioned to compare ourselves to others and to our own ideas of what our superficial circumstance 'should' look like. The fear that at one point in our evolution was a useful life preserver, is now a harmful habit, being passed from one generation to the next.
When our habits (in this case the incessant wanting to compare) are brought into the forefront of our minds, when we witness the repetitive thoughts that enforce the habit, the subconscious becomes conscious and we are no longer doomed to repeat it. That is freedom.
Incontrovertible Man (Self Portrait)
25"x 20.5" | Acrylic on Canvas
“Incontrovertible Man” is a self-portrait and so, as with all my work (but in this case more directly), it is a glimpse into my awakening process. In documenting my own spiritual development it is my hope that these paintings and the words that go along with them can be a catalyst that awakens the viewer/reader. At the very least hopefully it’s just something cool to look at!
Drawings
One
8.5″ x 11″ | Pencil on Paper
“One” is a piece that presents the image of the universe interacting with, and becoming aware of, itself. Through the creation of life starting with single celled organisms and growing into complex physiological systems, the universe learns more and more about itself. Scientists conclude that species evolve as an adaptation to their environment; I like to think of evolution as the tool that the universe uses to study itself. It creates continuingly advancing systems for processing information so that it may delve more deeply into itself; just as humans create technology that becomes increasingly complex in its design and capabilities.
On A Dime
8.5″ x 11″ | Pencil on Paper
Often times in life, it is when circumstance is at its most dire, that we see the movement of grace and beauty and love, through humanity. While my heart aches for those that suffer and grieve, it is at the same time filled by repeated accounts of sacrifice, as well as the unending compassion that people continue to extend towards one another.Life can turn on a dime, sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst. It is to the degree that we can share our prosperity without clinging to it, and accept difficulty without succumbing to it, that will determine our course. Our handling of today’s adversity shows us what we can be as a species, and that is……….love.
