“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.
+56x35cm.jpg)
+64x40cm.jpg)
