UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #44

Title    “Hera – Queen of Heaven and the Goddesses”  (Acrylic) 120x90cm

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

This painting is another from the “In the Images of Goddesses” Exhibition.  I am reviewing this painting today because it was shown in the video by Natalija Brunovs that was released this year called “Tanmayo – Abstract Artist” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ2MzRmoKBA and serves to demonstrate my painting process. In the video you will see in Subjects 1,2 & 3 (above) how the painting reaches it’s finished form.

The painting represents the energy surrounding the Greek classical goddess Hera.  Hera was the Queen of the Goddesses and married to Zeus.  The snake is one of her symbols, so I started the painting with something that represented a snake.  She also is depicted as having electrifying energy and a commanding and regal personality. You can see that the painting, like many of my works, went through a series of metamorphoses.  

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

The finished painting has a strong diagonal emphasis in its composition.  A diagonal often is unsettling to the viewer and suggests discord.

Gold is symbolic of majesty and I have used a gold colour (similar to yellow ochre) to convey this.   At the time of painting I mixed all my colours from 3 primary colours so this tertiary colour was more citron (derived from yellow and purple).  The compliment to this gold colour is a blue/purple seen at the opposite corners of the diagonal.

Perseveration (or a repeated line) gives the painting a dynamic feel.  The painting is very subjective and represents some aspects within myself, which are unique to this goddess. 

The whole series in the exhibition examines those characteristics that are within all of the human race (male and female). The series also honours different aspects embodied within myself.  The Goddess series should be seen as a whole because it was painted and exhibited at an important turning point in my life and is a celebration of my being. 
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