Thresholds and Portals — Surreal North

Ascent--- 36”X36” Acrylic and oil Pastel $500-$1000--- A contemplative painting: Stare at the dot in the center, allow all your focus and attention to collect here. Breathe deeply for a few rounds and imagine yourself moving through the ascending arches, lightening your surroundings until you reach the center point bathed in warm white light. The new spring sun beams brightly on you, congratulating you on your arrival, your ascent. This depiction of ascent was inspired by sunny snow-covered walks through the woods. A contemplative painting: Stare at the dot in the center, allow all your focus and attention to collect here. Breathe deeply for a few rounds and imagine yourself moving through the ascending arches, lightening your surroundings until you reach the center point bathed in warm white light. The new spring sun beams brightly on you, congratulating you on your arrival, your ascent. This depiction of ascent was inspired by sunny snow-covered walks through the woods. A contemplative painting: Stare at the dot in the center, allow all your focus and attention to collect here. Breathe deeply for a few rounds and imagine yourself moving through the ascending arches, lightening your surroundings until you reach the center point bathed in warm white light. The new spring sun beams brightly on you, congratulating you on your arrival, your ascent. This depiction of ascent was inspired by sunny snow-covered walks through the woods.

Descent--- 30”x30” Acrylic $200-$500--- The environment has gone murky, the moon is waning, things that used to be bright and lush are now dull, and joy is hard to find. A portal opens and a spark of vitality is calling you from the depths, but you must go into the darkness to claim it. This is a Contemplative Painting, pool all your focus onto that red dot within the darkness, breathe deeply and let the portals vibrate in your periphery. The descent calling to us, inviting us to walk into the darkness. To step through fear (looming trees) and into our depths. Finding what truly makes us alive and to claim that point of vitality. From there the only thing to do is ascend. The environment has gone murky, the moon is waning, things that used to be bright and lush are now dull, and joy is hard to find. A portal opens and a spark of vitality is calling you from the depths, but you must go into the darkness to claim it. This is a Contemplative Painting, pool all your focus onto that red dot within the darkness, breathe deeply and let the portals vibrate in your periphery. The descent calling to us, inviting us to walk into the darkness. To step through fear (looming trees) and into our depths. Finding what truly makes us alive and to claim that point of vitality. From there the only thing to do is ascend. The environment has gone murky, the moon is waning, things that used to be bright and lush are now dull, and joy is hard to find. A portal opens and a spark of vitality is calling you from the depths, but you must go into the darkness to claim it. This is a Contemplative Painting, pool all your focus onto that red dot within the darkness, breathe deeply and let the portals vibrate in your periphery. The descent calling to us, inviting us to walk into the darkness. To step through fear (looming trees) and into our depths. Finding what truly makes us alive and to claim that point of vitality. From there the only thing to do is ascend.

Dreaming: The Way Through--- 18”X23” Acrylic $200-$500--- This painting evokes The Dream. It draws you in and feels realistic in a strange way. Dimensions don’t make sense but there is that drive to move forward. In dreams we are constantly moving from one thing to the next experiencing the driving force that is within every story/myth, the What-Comes-Next anticipation. Dreams were genesis for this show, it began as a series of dreams: trying to get through doors, still years later I am affected, and curiously exploring these spaces.

Devotional Painting (For Fire Worship)-- - 16”X20” Acrylic & Glitter $300-$500--- This is an Altar Piece, painted with great reverence for fire. I made fires during the day, observing, learning. Fire is so deeply a part of what it is to be human. Our histories have been intertwined since the beginning of our species, and it was one of the great thresholds we crossed to become the Humans we are today. The Fire here is contained within a large stone fireplace, a great battery of warmth. Two spruce trees stand as Guardians; their life cycle as intertwined with fire as our own species. The splay of glitter erupts in the background evoking thoughts of the Aurora dancing like a flame in the night sky. The glossy melted path to the fire illustrates its power. This is a painting is for resting, gathering strength or expelling excess energies.

Into the Strange Vastness of a Full Moon's Winter Night--- 15”x30” Acrylic Sold at $500--- Inspired by many full moon winter walks and then incomparable strange joy of marching through the glittering expanse of snow. There is nothing quite like feeling the vast nature of the universe so acutely walking through the trees out onto the tundra on a clear night with the moonlight so bright everything casts a shadow. This was painted to mimic the static quality of vision I experience while looking at snow under the moonlight. My first painting using multiple layers of dots to build up a static color field

Finding a Threshold: Being combed Through by the Bright White of New snow--- 30”X15”” Acrylic $500-$1000--- When I began to claim my focus as thresholds and portals I keyed in my awareness to be alert to somatic feelings of crossing thresholds, feelings of change alteration the feeling of distinction and edge. One of the most surprising somatic thresholds I felt was walking out onto the frozen pond early this winter. I was crossing a section of cattails which broke into a section of new bright white snow and as I walked across that patch of snow it felt as if my subtle body was being combed, the ick was being teased out and I felt lighter and fresher walking through the next section of cattails. And by the time that I got onto the frozen pond I was full of joy and dancing. This was like nothing else I had ever experienced and it held up each time I walked out onto the pond Attempting to paint this was beyond anything that I was comfortable with but has been an immensely rewarding experience. I wanted to portray the natural setting of this threshold, as a tribute to the subtle nature of magic in the world around us.

Claiming the Yolk within the Archway of Perceptions--- 16”x20” Acrylic $150-$300--- This painting is a contemplation of Perception. What is it like being perceived and how perception is a major threshold (perceived as barrier), especially for artists. This is a painting that is about what you gain when you walk through that portal of being perceived, you receive the yolk, which is both the nutritious center of an egg but also a device that straps in a beast of burden. It holds a slight warning, to take the nutrition from being perceived but do not let it become your driver.

Decision Matrix (Finding the Secret third door)--- 8”X10” Acrylic $100-$200--- This painting was initially made following a dream about a colossal circular building but slowly morphed into the disorienting vision it is today. The lively red dot is our focal point, it is here you can rest your attention when you are battling with a false dichotomy. One of the most revolutionary reframes for me was when I heard Erick Godsey talk about how there is never only two options, there is always a 3rd Door. This is a painting to come to when you are looking for that secret 3rd Door.

Stepping Through it: The Agitation Before the Walk--- 12”X24” Mixed Medium $200-$300--- This started as my spare paint canvas for a few years and includes experimentation with strange materials (hole punches, spruce needles). I had mostly given up on this canvas until after a particularly inspiring walk (post threshold discovery on the pond), I wanted to capture the cartoonish nature of my winter clothes, all solid blocky colors. It was a perfect fit for depicting the feelings of unsettled agitation before a much-needed walk

Subconscious Cave Painting #1--- 12”X24” Mixed Medium $200-$300--- Cave painting because these are marks made within the process. While within the portal of a painting, these marks are made as a byproduct of my process, removing excess paint from brushes; and at times revisited while on a phone call or thinking, a marker or pen in my hand makes sense of these spaces or adds flourish. I am completely obsessed by the resultant compositions. This is the first occasion I have adhered one to a canvas, I love abstract paintings and am very proud of my subconscious for its work.

In the Face of Doubt: Through--- 8”X10” Acrylic $100-$200--- A depiction of uncertainty, the embodied doubt when coming face to face with a noticeable threshold that is calling out to you. Portraying the feelings that you sit with at a point in your life in which if you so choose to pass through the threshold, everything will be different. It’s the between/before liminal grappling that we all have experienced.

Connections--- 12”X9” Acrylic $100-$200--- This painting was inspired by the various Black paintings that my Friend Katlian Stark has done over the years. I enjoyed using a limited palate of white/black/greys. The Imagery explores what connection looks like across distances, and within spaces that are intimidating. Finding solace in the familiar is incredibly human. There is a bit of magic in knowing that despite vast distances like resonates with like.

Floating: Arch and Color Study 4--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- Painting this took me back to Japan: cherry blossoms, coy ponds, ornamental waterscapes in parks and neon lights all swirl together in my memory. The arch way can be place in whatever scenario you can imagine, even on the back of a snake. Allow it to bring some levity to your awareness

Gathering Place: Arch and Color Study 1--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- The Arch here is the central figure, the spruce gather around, there is a feeling of curiosity among the trees, peaking and peering at this strange object. This painting evokes walking through the woods and stumbling upon a strange structure, or formation of trees that gives you pause enough to wonder, How did that get there?

Group Dynamics: Arch and Color Study 2--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- We are all searching for a sense of belonging. Sometimes we hold space for people and sometimes we need space to be held in, and I know all of us have had a moment of recognition that we are not quite like the rest. It’s interesting to try and place yourself as one of the arches. To feel into what kinds of thresholds are you facing, what portals are you willing to go through and which ones will you simply walk by.

Its just off the Trail: Arch and Color Study 3--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- You ever have that friend that always wants to show you this new discovery that’s just off the trail, or maybe you are that friend who is always trying to coax the others out on an adventure. This painting is a tribute to those moments when something catches your eye as your wandering, and you take the time to check it out. There is no telling what you might catch a glimpse of when you walk down a trail with an open awareness.

Longing for the Liminal Desert: Arch and Color Study 7--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- Is it sunrise, or sunset? It is simply a Liminal time. Deep in my heart I feel a longing for the desert, never having been there in person I find it strange that so often these vast rocky landscapes pop up when am creating without a destined purpose. It has felt disingenuous in the past to prop up these images of places I have never been. This is more genuine, a true depiction of my longing. A portal to the liminal desert of my dreams.

Lining up the Opportunities: Arch and Color Study 6--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- This chaotic scene reminds me of croquet and lining up a difficult shot, I like to imagine these portal larger, big enough to walk through, thinking about how one thing leads to another. The opportunities you take will lead you towards more. It is hard to contemplate our trajectory within the now, and this painting shows us the chaotic nature of choice.

Making Choices: Arch and Color Study 5--- 6"x6" Acrylic $45-$90--- Again, we see the idea of False Dichotomy. Things are not one thing or another but rather interwoven and connected as a rule. When faced with making choices it can feel difficult and confusing, what seem to be separate things are overlapping and intermingling. Best option, at this point, is to step back and take it all in. There is something mythic in the 4 overlapping arches, I don’t like to choose favorites, but this arrangement of arches has me close to it. I have truly become smitten with using Neon colors and cannot wait to explore more with this configuration.

Vivification Portal: Making Friends with a Tree--- 8”X10” mixed medium $100-$200--- A contemplation painting. Stare at the red dot and allow yourself to focus on this point, feel the green envelope you. Green is a healing color, resonant with all that grows. Red is the color of life and vitality; it is yours to claim. This is a portal you can find making a connection with a tree. They are underrated allies in this world and have much to offer

New Moon Mysteries: Arch and Color Study 8--- 6"x6" Acrylic and Oil Pastel $45-$90--- This painting expresses the feeling of wandering in the woods on a new moon before the snow, that hazy dark that comes from the lack of the big celestial light. When wandering during these circumstances we find ourselves orienting via the glowing lights we come across, either from road, light pollution, porch lights, or something entirely other. There is no telling what you might discover in the dark.