The Meaning of Death

I have decided to discuss the idea of death in this post is because it is one of many reoccurring themes that pops up within the realm of my art. When one thinks of death it is almost always associated with negative connotations. Death is dark, death is cold, death is painful. Death is the end of the story, death is closing the book and putting it away. Death is, in a word, final.
(Recalling Innocence)


So what does death really mean when looking at it from an artistic point of view? For me, the symbol of death is not necessarily a negative outcome. Death is not always the end, but sometimes just another path we must take in life, after all just when the caterpillar thought her life was over, she became a butterfly.

I often times use the symbol of death as the closing of one door and the opening of another... a representation of a new beginning (i.e. Grave in a Bed of Leaves) It is often used to reflect a change in the life of a character I've created or a symbol of some change within my own life. Very rarely within my work does death truly represent something as dark as the end...
(Grave in a Bed of Leaves)


Sometimes the theme of death is necessary within my art, after all, it being primarily rooted in emotion, I find it only natural to use a theme as dramatic as death to express certain moods and feelings of the work. Sometimes a character must die to usher in their new beginning, while other times a character must die to make others value life more.
(At the Edge of Life and Death)


So in the end, the theme of death within my artistic world is not always dark, cold or the end of the story. Death is not always the grand finale, and is often times warmly welcomed by characters ready to transform into their proverbial butterfly.
(Welcoming)

A Look at "Grave in a Bed of Leaves"

The first painting I would like to take an in depth look at would be one entitled "Grave in A Bed of Leaves"



This painting was finished in mid 2004 and is one of many that holds a very special meaning for me. It features a pretty simple night time scene in a somewhat forest like area featuring a couple people. At the time I had been experimenting a lot with the blending of oil paints to create fire. This was the first painting I had done at the time in which I was very happy with the way my fire had come out. But there is more to this painting than three people in the woods near the fire...

In the lower right hand corner of the painting there rests a woman near a tree amongst the leaves... This is where the title of the painting originates. I painted her in a somewhat awkward position discoloring her skin only slightly to indicate that she is dead.

The woman's bed of leaves indicates that this an autumn scene even though it was not painted in the autumn months. For me, autumn was a symbol of the end, and by putting the woman within the autumn leaves I was indicating that this was the end... like the leaves on the trees, now fallen to the ground, this woman's time had come to pass.

Our second subject in this painting is a woman who's feet do not touch the ground. She is floating through the air and has stopped to peer between two trees. One might note that the colors that make up the woman's dress are brighter in color than the previous woman's dress. One might also note from the light cast upon the two trees that the woman herself is glowing in the darkness.

The floating woman represents the spirit of the dead woman and she has paused to peer between these two random trees in the forest. Here at the edge of these two trees the viewer of the painting might see that the trees form what looks much like a passage way, a gate or a door way so to speak. It is time for her to make a decision...

Our final subject of this painting is the fire itself. The fire is glowing brightly and many streaks of light and color seem to be burning and almost dancing from the fire. When I painted this, I wanted the fire to symbolize change and conversion. As wood burns, it is converted into energy. The bright colors emanating from the fire sort of symbolize joy, happiness, something new... they have somewhat living shapes, and would sort of indicate that they are spirits being released from this dark world converted to light.

There is also another woman standing at the edge of the fire. She is standing at the threshold of the flames that symbolize change. Her arms are wide open as she embraces what the fire itself symbolizes.

When it all comes down to it, there is only one person in this painting, but we are seeing her from three different moments, but all the same moment. The real woman is standing at the edge of the fire embracing the coming change. The women in blue are symbols of herself... She has shed her mortal coil and left it to lie within the bed of leaves, her spirit is drawn to the fire, standing at the gateway between life and death, making the decision to whether to cross or stay.

In some ways the woman represents myself at that time. I had come to a point in my life filled with a lot of changes. I had to say goodbye to some friends because they could not accept the person I was, but in the end I embraced the change, got on with life and became a person who I liked much more than the person I was...