ON THE EASEL – THE SEED OF HOPE BRINGS JOY

THE SEED OF HOPE BRINGS JOY – On the easel 2026 – 27 Parabolic oil Painting Heron’s flight

Collectors, ask at this link for acquisition of the completed original or the number 1 of 15 limited edition acrylic enhanced reproductions.

THE PROVERB

Enjoy your dream
Many witnesses
Fascinated with wonder
To meditate upon
A God idea
Gives birth to vision
A good dream
The pillar of heaven

THE STORY

Surreal digital photo art for an oil painting inspired by “I Will Dance with the Joy of my Father“.

Creative choices and God

I chose the idea of the pillar from this thought. Any person who builds their faith upon the wisdom from heaven will only dance with joy in discovering the freedom promised. I know the truth in these words. “I love you and get great pleasure out of seeing you enjoy what I have given you to enjoy”, is a pillar of heaven. A father’s heart expressed the pillars of truth in affection for his offspring. Forgiveness, hope, mercy, kindness, protection, inspiration, and life everlasting.

This development went further into the beginning of life’s rich story. I wanted to tell you what I have discovered. The pleasure I received by taking time out to meditate on the life story unfolding left me with questions … Why? I discovered another wonder of creation, awe, and a deep gratitude that welled up with love for God our Father. I love Him without shame. When I see such amazing living creatures, I can only honour Him more for such wonder. It is true.

When you set your mind upon what is pure, clean, and praiseworthy, your spirit will have a continual feast. It will dance with joy. Guard over the thoughts of your heart … this is one of the pillars of heaven.

As the artwork progressed, I added New Zealand Fairy Tern, Black-backed Gull, and an Australian Pelican. Note: Numerous Pelicans have flown from Australia to New Zealand to claim residency status.

Indigenous art storytelling

My research developed further into the indigenous art storytelling of Australian Aboriginals and New Zealand Maori. I admire these people and see a lot of great wonder in how they show their culture in art and music. As my perceptions develop, I will mix Western fine art disciplines into it. What is common to all people is the want for cultural identity; they want to worship something greater than themselves and to tell the story of what our culture says.

Maori Art Symbolism

The Mangopare hammerhead shark in the Maori world symbolises natural abundance, strength, agility, and determination. Respected predator qualities are symbolised in the Koru pattern. The warriors sought to emulate them on the battlefield.

The Koru pattern wave motions depict abundance, strength, agility, and determination. These symbolise the backbone oscillations exercised in a movement towards its prey.

I have researched this information from many sources.

Australian Indigenous art inspirations

I love the vibrancy and symbolism of Native arts, particularly Australian Aboriginal dot painting. On the surface, the dot is simply a style of Aboriginal painting, not dissimilar to cross-hatching or stencil art used in Western art.

Exploring deeper into the history of the Aboriginal dot painting, you discover a world of camouflage, secrecy, and ritual. What the Aboriginals depicted in their work to worship from their culture, I now use to explore the visual medium of my culture to tell the stories of what I see. I am indebted to God for the Aboriginals’ hunger in storytelling and the simple use of what was at hand. The search for the invisible supernatural world is so clear in their art stories.

Dot painting

The term ‘dot painting’ stems from what the Western eye sees when facing contemporary Aboriginal acrylic paintings. This painting style arose from the Papunya art movement in the 1970s. Papunya Tula (The Western Desert – South West of Alice Springs and now venturing further into West Australia) artists used a process that originally mirrored traditional spiritual ceremonies. The ritual code is to have the desert soil cleared and smoothed as a canvas, much like the dark, earthy boards used by the Papunya Tala. Their canvas is drawn on with an inscription of sacred designs, replicating movements of ancestral beings (spirits) upon the earth. The Aboriginals wanted to express this spirit world.

Dreaming design, outlined with dancing circles, is surrounded by multiple dots.

Afterwards, the imprinted earth is smoothed over and painted bodies rubbed away, masking the sacred secrets that had taken place. The Papunya Tula painting style derives directly from the artists’ knowledge of the traditional body and sand painting associated with the ceremony. To portray these dream-time creating stories for the public has required the removal of sacred symbols and the careful monitoring of ancestral designs.

Today, these secrets have become known to all with modern technologies and communication systems.

My reasons for journeying into indigenous art forms

I am curious about all mankind’s philosophies and reasons for believing what we do about our beginnings and how we express our beliefs in the art world. My goal is to take my findings and blend the art disciplines into a mix of expression to honour Jesus, the founder and maker of us all. He came to restore what had been lost. Without condemnation, He gives all mankind the hope and revelation of our true roots

My quest is to explore and create what I find. To show what is true and shine a light on the deception that is invading what God made to be good for our planet.

Disclaimer

My attempt to paint, study, and replicate indigenous art is very naive.

In the best way, I know how there is no way I would knowingly disrespect a people group whom I dearly love. I study at my own pace, and these studies unmask a deeper honour toward these dear marginalised people. That sentiment is embedded in my borrowing of their creative intelligence to partner with my Western-cultured photorealism painting.

As an Australian and citizen of this world, I am honoured that they have given me so much pleasure with their wonderful storytelling interpretation with design, and dot painting colours, alongside the rhythmic sounds of their music in didgeridoos, knocking sticks, dance, and song unique to Aboriginal culture.

I have a lot to learn as I embed what I learn, crossing the bridge of understanding from my culture into the indigenous cultures of the world.

I call this my Godly inheritance, and I look forward to experiencing their offerings in heaven, where there is no fear, hatred, prejudice, or offence to darken what God created to be good.

STATUS and MATERIALS