I painted this watercolor to Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass. This piece evokes Sunrise (Gloria) through the rich and shimmery gold leaf accents on nebulous purple washes.
O Magnum Mysterium
O Magnum Mysterium is a Latin text describing the wonderment of the animals as they gaze on Christ. It translates to “O great mystery.” I created this art as a response to Ola Gjeilo’s Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium.) It is elegantly ethereal and mysterious.
Tundra Diptych
10″ x 20″ watercolor on board. This diptych was inspired by the choral work “Tundra” by Ola Gjeilo, a haunting and beautiful song about the mountains of Norway.
Precarious
24″ x 36″ watercolor on board. This painting is part of a collaboration with Nebula Ensemble, an award winning experimental music group in Colorado. Created in collaboration with composer Sarah Perske.
Lake Isle III
This painting is about “The Lake Isle” by Ola Gjeilo. The sweeping and lilting lyrics are “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats. The flecks of vibrant purple glint from the ocean-aqua field like tiny mysteries.
Dark Night of The Soul
In the end, that’s all there is: love and its duty, sorrow and its truth. In the end, that’s all we have – to hold on tight until the dawn.
“Shantaram,” David Gregory Roberts
Dark Night of the Soul, 24″ x 30″ watercolor and copper on board.
I tell myself over and over again that meaningful art can come from a place of joy. After closing my first art business and re-inventing my work, one of my mantras is that we can create art from a place of joy. We can celebrate joy in art and make it as lasting and impactful as pain. But the nights when I’m too tired to think critically seem the darkest, and they are usually when ideas flutter by that make me feel sorry for myself, angry at my art, and hopeless that I was never able to earn an MFA: my art career doesn’t look like the “real” artists I admire.
Inspired by Ola Gjello’s “Dark Night of the Soul.” This art is real. Your feelings are real. The luminous copper dawn is also real.
