WITHIN THE SACRED GROVE
There's been a lot of interest in this particular painting lately. Below is the story of its parthenogenesis, but I just want to note to anyone interested, you can purchase excellent quality prints of it on paper or canvas at
Saatchi Art
I dwell in the myth world as much as possible. This has all sorts of permutations; it is not about play-acting what was written down long ago. Aphrodite Ourania, here in this painting, is a strong, energetic woman dancing with cranes at night in Her season, Spring.
I cannot summon Aphrodite into a painting, I have to wait until she appears in a vision, and then put all other projects aside to work on that while I can still see it clearly. If I simply paint a form and call it Aphrodite, the painting itself will have no life in it; it would be stillborn, so to speak. She rarely appears to me, less than once a year, so any image captured of her is rare and vibrant.
I've sensed this particular painting hovering just out of sight for about 8 years, since painting another inspired image of her. I kept that earlier painting hanging where I can see it upon awakening all that time, as an invitation, and finally there she was one early spring morning, in my mind's eye.