Thursday, September 18, 2008

Orbits - 31 where the Raven flies...

Yesterday I wrote about the time and effort i'd put into readying the sketches for the female figure to go in Orbits.Well I'm happy to report this has been done, and i've transferred the sketch to the main picture. however, I'm not going to show you that today, instead i'm going to concentrate on the Raven you see here. It's relevance to the composition is vital I believe, but you shall judge for yourself. (it also connects with a previous work entitled 'Spirit')

Ravens have always had a significance in many societies down the ages...superstitions and folk law have grown up around this large intelligent bird.But it is only that...a bird.Any connection to magic..portents and fortune is non existent. the bird has achieved it's notoriety purely because of it's size and beauty.It stands out..!

Over the centuries, the Raven has been named as a portent of good fortune..good health..a foretelling of death and decease...the keeper of the crown and monarchy as it resides in the famous Tower Of London..legend says that if the Raven leave the Tower..the monarchy will be lost..But for the sake of this picture, i'm turning to the North American Indians...their Shaman would consider (along with other things) that the Raven represented a way to see the truth..a way to reveal that which is hidden and to unravel the complicated nature of secrets. The meaning of this will remain a secret to me (unless you want to try and coax it out of me!)..as I prefer you to create your own interpretation.

Things are likely to become ever more tangled as I proceed...did I just write 'evermore'?..maybe I should be quothing "Nevermore"!

More tomorrow!

1 comments:

Tys on Ice said...

according to our belief, the ravens carry the souls of our dead ancestors ...when we offer our meal to the recent dead, its always a raven that comes to eat it...if it does we figure our ancestors soul has accepted our prayers and can move on...