Out of Pain.. Beauty

Out of Pain.. Beauty

75 x 75 x 4 cm (29.5 x 29.5 x 1.5")

Closeup of pearl and words

This painting is inspired by nature and expresses the notion of taking emotional pain and turning it into something beautiful just as an oyster deals with an irritant. The oyster coats the disturbance in layer after layer of nacre (aka mother of pearl) which in the end gives rise to a beautiful iridescent pearl, a rare and treasured gem. "Out of pain.. beauty". This quote comes from Irving Stone's book "Lust for Life" about the life of Vincent van Gogh, a book that deeply impacted me. Vincent created almost a thousand beautiful paintings, the act of creating in itself a way of finding calm and peace in a world that didn't understand him and after he was gone we were left with these rare and increasingly valuable creations. Being human is wonderful because we get to choose for ourselves if and how we process our pain. Transform the raw ugliness into beauty, wisdom, positivity or let it sit and fester into rigid hard bitterness. What an interesting experiment to see where the different choices lead. 
Acrylic on canvas: $400 NZD - sold

Family Tree

Family Tree 
10 x 10 x 3.5 cm (4 x 4 x 1.5")

This painting represents a family with the larger bright green leaves in the foreground expressing the children and grandchildren of a couple whose surname and first names are on the trunk. 
Acrylic on canvas personalised: $50 NZD

Poplar Stones

Poplar Stones
50 x 60 x 2 cm (19.5 x 23.5 x 0.8")

Acrylic on canvas:  $500 NZD

Sometimes A Diamond Forms

Sometimes a Diamond Forms
76 x 102 x 4 cm (30 x 40 x 1.5")

Closeup of Words on Sometimes A Diamond Forms

This painting represents personal spiritual growth that had a profoundly positive influence on my experience of life. It all began when Oprah Winfrey featured on her show a book entitled "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. I just knew I had to get this book, so I did, read it voraciously and was deeply impacted by it's message. THIS book was the ONLY resource that had answered the long-held questions I had about life, people and their behaviour and how to improve my experience of it all. Tolle's teachings brought much needed peace to me. I have depicted earth layers and a diamond in the rough that has only formed after much pressure and heat to yield a rare and precious jewel... this symbolises a soul's journey through life, with all the pressure and heat we can experience we can either succumb or we can learn and grow, gaining knowledge and wisdom becoming something very rare and precious, a jewel transparent to the light. Acrylic on canvas:  $500 - sold