Fine Art Witchery: Where the Arts & Magick Meet
An exploration of the metaphysical intersection between the Fine Arts & Witchcraft: including history, current usage, and practical application.
Goddesses Come Knocking
I don't have what many would call a devotional relationship with many of the deities I paint, but that doesn't mean there isn't a divine connection or other kind of relationship. Often I tap into other people's devotions for those deities, or have an interesting conversation with those gods for a short time.
Over the weekend, I just finished a series of 5 small goddess paintings, and wanted to share with you all a little behind the process of making them.
First a little background:
Friday (June 16th) is the opening for the Goddess show at Gargoyles Statuary in Seattle. I think it may be the 4th year I've participated in this show, and this one's a little extra special as I'll also be doing an author talk and signing for my new book, The Witch's Cauldron. However, I'm leaving the very next day for a 6 week long book/workshop/performance tour, so I was concerned about getting art done in time. I had planned to get one new painting done for it - which I managed to finish last week. But it's a large and highly detailed painting with a very high price point (if I make it available at all for sale at this time.)
Waste Not, Want Not
I was contemplated how to create a few more pieces at a friendly price-point when I spied the small stack of pine pieces I had cut off a recent batch of panels for shrine prints. Under 5"x8" and lightweight, they were a great size. Even though I was going to be at an event all weekend, I knew from past experiences that this event tends to have slow periods. So I painted gesso on 5 pieces, sanded them, then did some color washes on each from the leftover paint sitting in my palette from the big painting I just finished. (It's acrylic, so it would have gone to waste.)
Once dry, I tucked the panels, a couple bottles of paint, some brushes, and pens - to take with me to the event.
Calling All Goddesses
The next step was figuring out who to paint. So I put a call out on my Facebook page, asking folks for suggestions on deities that I haven't painted yet, or haven't done in a long while. From that list, I wrote down about a dozen of the suggestions that stood out for me. I did some light research on the backgrounds of the goddesses and historical art made for them.
Once I was situated in my booth, I pulled out the panels. Because I had done random color washes on them before I left, each one had a different "mood" to it. I looked at the list, and the panel in my hand, and one name jumped off: Anahita. And so she was the first painting, emerging out of a wash of deep Prussian blue and navy pen work.
The next panel I picked up was a mixture of greens and browns, and Pachamama's name leaped off the page. In the wash, I could see her peeking out at the viewer with a full pregnant body of earth and greens.
As I was working on that piece, a third panel nudged its way out - the wash looking like a powerful swirl of deep waters. Yemaya leaped off the list and on to the panel.
Two panels left. A warm purple/earthy panel was chosen by Pele. I started work on her before I had to finish for the day - 3.5 paintings is pretty good for one day's work while tending to a booth!
Next Day
In the morning, I finished up Pele, adding a little bronze paint into her skin, and trails of flowers. I thought 4 was good enough - in fact, I would have been happy with finishing 3. But then the 5th panel fell to the floor from where it was sitting under the table. Well, I still had a few hours....
The panel was mainly a light blue wash and didn't speak yet to any of the names on the list, but I still had purples, yellows, and rust left over from Pele. So I did another layer of color washes. Suddenly, Ereshkigal leaped off the list - I could see her body in a lamia-esque form swirling out of the colors.
So in the end, I got 5 of these little paintings done, and made contact with 5 very different deities from all over the world.
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