This piece has been the first painting that I have ended out re-working on.
Back in 2020 I thought I had finished this piece, but then I changed my mind!
It was the first time I had painted a human figure before and I felt quite happy with my result but I didn’t feel my vision was pulling through.
So after leaving it for a while I looked at it with fresh eyes and figured out what I would like to do, I wanted to soften the “Spirit Warrior” on the wall and the street art I covered over it and added it onto the opposite concrete wall. I felt it was a lot more balanced. Then I added a campfire onto the street to give off an ancient feel, like emerging the past with the present, I finished it off with citrine and pyrite crystal to give it a bit of magic and some sparkle.
There is so much history that remains on the lands of New York. Once upon a time there was no buildings and bustle, it was vast fields, rivers and home of the Iroquois tribe, which also ties in with my family ancestry.
Like I said previously It was the first time I had painted a human figure and he was small! So I actually painted with toothpicks safety pins and very fine detail brushes. As I was carefully working on this I was still struggling with some of the facial features, So I started to use my own face as a reference.
In the time I wasn’t painting I was also reading a lot about the history of our tribe and I was telling my girlfriend at dinner how both Iroquois and Beothuk tribes respected and also put woman in charge they didn’t just have one chief. They worked together equally and honoured the values of each tribal member. In the same conversation I also laughed saying that I was getting desperate to get my “Spirit Warriors” face right on my painting so I was using my own face as a reference, she then suggested that maybe the “Spirit Warrior” should be a woman? I actually loved this suggestion.
So now I have put some real change in and I had turned my “Spirit Warrior” into a powerful woman chief.
2021 I was really digging into my own self improvement and my art was helping me through this. Covid had changed the nature of our planet and the way people were reacting all the time, sometimes it made me feel hopeless and trapped amongst the rage and uncertainty around me I was feeling stressed from all the vibes!!
I was worried about my health, how conversions had changed into dismal dullness about the worldly situation and sometimes I was worried about how my financial situation would play in all of this too!
So as I was painting this I decided to use it like a vision board, manifesting a good future ahead.
I used the street art on the wall to project this. Freedom has always taken centre stage in my work, my art gives me the freedom I am looking for, especially the way it frees my mind. I feel my art speaks for me like it would journaling in a book.
So when I talk about freedom and pollution I am mostly talking about the mind.
Peaceful positive minds move mountains in a wild world.
So finally In 2022 I have finished this special piece, reworked with total meaning.
This painting has been on a journey of discovery and at this point one of the most “out there” pieces I think I have visually produced!
Here is the write up on this piece so you can connect with the image.
“Don’t Give Up On The Dream”
There is no place like this,
The manifesting realm where your dreams voice themselves into reality.
Do you notice the spirit warrior?
She does not give up on the dream.
Her campfire burning away all negativity she clears the path for an abundant future.
Respect that your feet stand on ancient land with so many stories of beauty, struggle and success.
Be the seeker of light, You are full of promise.
If you would like to view the full piece or for pre-sale please enquire on my contact page.
