UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #71

“Aphrodite – Goddess of Creativity and Love”

In the Image of Goddesses Series

(Acrylic) 

Size: 90x120cm

ABOUT THIS PAINTING

 In my last post (#70) I discussed my painting of “Hephaestus – God of the Anvil and Forge”.  This week I will explain my painting of “Aphrodite – Goddess of Creativity and Love”.   Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus.  (Both these deities come from classical Greek myth).  This painting of Aphrodite is meant to symbolize my creative nature.  The painting discussed last week also was about my creativity but from a more masculine angle.

Aphrodite in classical Greek times was the Goddess of creativity and love, similar to Venus in the Roman era.  Central to my learning over the years, has been an understanding of the relationship between spirituality, sexuality and love.  As a painter I feel that it is important for me to keep all three in harmony and balanced in order for the creative process to flow.  As I age, I can look back over my life and see how these three aspirations play an important part in the way my life has unfolds. 

My recently published book “The Power of Creating” (in Hard Cover at cost or download free http://au.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3457759 ) gives an account of this in a 40 year retrospective of my art work.  It also gives insight into my creative and personal process.

Female sexuality is central to the allure of the Goddess Aphrodite.  My painting of her shows female sexuality and potential depicted as an ovum pulsating with life.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

The oval shape is symbolic of female potency - the female life force given form – the egg.  Eggs, large and small, are all rounded and oval.  The form of an egg is one of the strongest of structures, though it looks fragile, beautiful and mysterious.  I attempt to capture in this painting that mystery which is symbolic of potential life.  

I have selected warm colours that are also soft and feminine.  The pinks, purples and apricots are balanced with the cooler aqua – an analogous pallet.  Low and mid-tones are used throughout and the composition is balanced by the strong red border, on the top and left side, and the large oval in the lower left.

Although I have used acrylic paint, I have applied it in glazes and have utilized line more than I normally do, so as to get a feeling of pulsating movement.  This represents the potential for life that an ovum holds.  However without the male counterpart there cannot be life.

In order to better understand what I am trying to convey in this post, my painting of Aphrodite should be read along with last week’s post (#70) on Hephaestus, her husband.  

Abstract art is the best way for me to convey the complex meaning behind my paintings.  Other paintings from “In the Image of Goddesses” series have been discussed in posts Nos.9, 15, 44, 62, and 63 (though this is not the complete set). The series represents this woman’s examination and exploration of herself, and in that respect, all the paintings in this series fall into the genre of portrait.  The overall series is an examination and honouring of myself and the whole series can be enjoyed in more lyrical detail in my book.  Have a look – its free to download.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #70

“Hephaestus – God of the Anvil and Forge”

                                                             (Acrylic)                                                                       90x120cm 

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

This painting is one in a series of paintings called “In the Image of Goddesses”.  The series was shown at an exhibition of the same name in Brisbane, Australia.  The theme of the exhibition was to honour those aspects of myself that are personified by the classical Greek deities.  This pantheon of deities comprises all the varied characteristics that are displayed by humanity.  Therefore I have taken most of the major female Goddesses and depicted those aspects that they celebrate, as aspects of myself – thus exploring my own personality traits.  This is not so very unlike the Personality Tests of today, such as the MMPI-2RF (Minnosota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) which identify personality structure. 

I also included a few male Gods in the series because according to the psychiatrist Jung, each person embodies some characteristics of their opposite gender.  The painting discussed here is about Hephaestus - God of Fire, Metalworking, Stone masonry, and the Art of Sculpture.  Hephaestus is to the male gods as the Goddess Athena is to the females, for he gives skill to mortal artists and was believed to have taught humans the arts.  I chose him as representing my creativity.

Hephaestus was married to the Goddess Aphrodite.   He was believed to also have great healing powers which are similar to my therapeutic abilities.  During the best period of Grecian art, Hephaestus was characterised by his hammer and anvil.  I have depicted the anvil in this painting – can you see it?

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

Could this painting be loosely said to fall into the genre of Portraits?    I think that it could.  It does attempt to represent aspects of a person – myself.  Also it is an abstract representation of a God.  In the recent exhibition “Portrait of Spain – Masterpieces from the Prada” held at the Queensland Art Gallery, the painting of King Philip IV of Spain by Velazquez (1635) is depicting the King as the God Mars.  That particular painting would be classified as a portrait.  Therefore I would suggest that my painting of “Hephaestus” also falls into the genre of a portrait.

Of course the style is Abstract Expressionism.  This movement comprises many styles but shared several characteristics. The works are usually abstract; they emphasized freedom of emotional expression, technique, and execution; they display a single unified, undifferentiated field, network, or other image in unstructured space; and the canvases are large.

The colours used for “Hephaestus” are complimentary and the pallet limited to blue and orange (plus white and black).  A restricted pallet enables the artist to create more congruence and harmony in the overall colour scheme.

The tone is low to mid-tone with medium contrast.

The form is flat and abstract with flat planes of colour.  I allude to the anvil which is a symbol for Hephaestus.  This can be seen in the pale dusty orange image in the upper centre of the painting.  This is the most prominent  feature of the picture and honours his creative powers as well as mine.

The composition is static, flat and balanced which is typical of much of my art work.

Having studied psychology for many years, I tend to put a psychological bent on a lot of things, and when I completed my Masters Degree in Expressive Art Therapy, this line of thought was further developed.  So it is to be expected that many of my paintings originate from a psychological perspective.  Psychology has been monumental in changing humanity since its inception more than 100 years ago and will continue to do so in the future.  Much of the visual imagery we see in the mass media and advertising has been scrutinized by psychologists to influence the behaviour of the viewer.  Are you aware of that?  If not, start looking – it’s not hard to see.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #63

“Inanna – Daughter of Fire” 

(The Goddess Series)

(Acrylic) 

Size: 90x120cm

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

Following from last week’s post, the painting “Inanna – Daughter of Fire” was also part of the exhibition “In the Image of Goddesses”.

Inanna is one of the earliest known Goddesses.  She pre-dates the Greek deities by 1000 years – a time when Goddesses were seen as all powerful.  She is Mother of All – Earth Mother.  She is Life.  She is Death - cruel, majestic, enduring, continually giving birth to herself.  In the present day, in the Hindu religion, she is worshipped as Kali.  She is the energy of Nature at its most awesome, however she is also the giver of life. Just as nature can be devastatingly destructive, out of that destruction emerges new life.  This is the energy that the painting of Inanna represents.

The very earliest written text were discovered in Mesopotamia were Sumerian poems written on tablets.  They are known as “Poems to Inanna”.  They tell of how she was stripped of all her worldly possessions and taken to the Underworld and then is resurrected.  The poems are very beautiful and surprisingly sensuous.  (They can be read on the internet.)

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

This painting although very dark, does not have any black in it.  All the colours are mixed from three primary colours.  Thus the colours of this painting are dark but not dead.  In fact the painting is quite dynamic and that is part of the reason.

The composition’s dynamic energy is also attributed to its circular motion which tends to draw the viewer into the vortex in the lower centre.

The flat dark colours are contrasted with the lively warm colours of red and yellow.  Contrast creates interest in the viewer and encourages the eyes to explore the image further.

Do you think that this painting captures the essence of the Goddess Inanna?

http://www.buderimartstudio.com