When visiting my website, www.verasart.com, many people living in the States like the Native American paintings best. Still Rockart and Shamans are not part of everyday life and may need an explanation. Ever since I was little and dreamed of being an archeologist, I have loved pictures of the Lascaux animals; they were the only rock art I knew. Many years ago I found out about the Lower Pecos civilization in West Texas in the Witte Museum in San Antonio. In 2005 we took a trip Seminole Canyon State Park where I got to see the rock shelter paintings of the Lower Pecos (up to 4000 years old) for the first time. It was wonderful! However it was sad to hear that these paintings were gradually disappearing because of a change of climate resulting from the creation of Lake Amistad and nothing could be done. (More information about Rockart is at www.rockart.org.) I paint rockart inspired paintings because it fascinates me, the paintings are so old, so mysterious and they were painted by people who, in the Native American tradition, are still here in Texas somehow intimately connected with the land.
This is Earth, the name came when walking my dog. The rocks and wood were found on the same walks and my cats were present during the painting of everyone of the pieces, sometimes wanting to sit in my lap and be patted, forcing me to take a break. I think the animals did contribute to the watercolors. The ground was very dry and broken into patterns when I was planning this one. I walk Maya in a wild area close to home where there is some beautiful nature left and a big cleared area where new houses are going to be built. Because of the recession nature is taking over all the land (Maya and I hope it is going to take a long time before construction starts). A regular shaman, one with rabbit ears and one with his hair standing all out: in a trance.
This is Air. The smaller feathers I found walking our dog Maya (hawk?), the big one is from a kite from Japan. The shaman has different animal attributes: antlers from a deer, a mountain lion face, and wings. The dark lines above his head are about what he needs to go through to get into the spirit world, if I remember right. The idea of animals as helpers I like, you find it in Native American stories and in fairy tales all over the world.
This is Water, the landscape is from inside the Canyon on the way to see the shelter. We were there on a very windy autumn day, but inside the canyon it was warm like in on a sunny day in winter or early spring (in Texas). There were butterflies, pools of water, running water, plants and no wind. It was so peaceful and you just wanted to live there, too. I put a yucca plant in the landscape, because we were told that the woman in the painting was holding two Yucca plants. She was wearing a coat made from strips of rabbit skin. She seemed like a mytical figure to me. I noticed that the yucca will often bloom after the rain, that is what ties it all together.
This is Fire, the hardest one for me to paint out of the four. The mountain lion is at Seminole canyon, you need to go there by boat, I got to see it only from the opposite bank. It is really big (6 or 7 feet, I believe) so it is visible from far away. The center has the White Shaman group which I still need to go see as well. The fire and the figures in the dark are from my imagination.
With the hot weather, I have been more inside. A good opportunity to finish a couple of paintings and get some cleaning done.
The White Prickly Poppies are of the thistle family, I believe. They are so beautiful, they cheer me whenever I see them. I discovered a yellow cousin on my walks with Maya. The background was inspired by driving on the freeway and seeing a wall of flowers, yellow and purple so thick that almost no green was visible, on the hillside of the road. I gave the top the canyon pattern and added the turquoise sky to remind myself of the Native Americans, their love of turquoise and their canyons. The painting kind of happened and the explanation came as thoughts after it was finished. I have never seen wildflowers in other countries like the ones in Texas.
A Bowl of Cherries, Oil 2010. My dear friend, Cheryl, and I used to love getting together, sharing what was going on in our lives and in cherry season: eating cherries. She just moved to College Station, we will all miss her, her family and her hospitality. This is your painting, Cheryl! When I was working on it, I had thoughts of another cherry painting hanging in Simone's kitchen in Perpignan (France) (anybody knowing Simone will have visions of joyful gatherings and true friendship). Cherries also remind me of my brother, Sjoera, and of cherries bought from the farmer along the river Vecht and shared with Sjoera, Sacha, Dimitri and Boris.
