The Waterman: Ignis Aeris

Ignis Aeris
(Second panel of "The Waterman" triptych)
Watercolor and pencil on illustration board,
15 x 20
2009
$480

about "The Waterman"

(funny to have finished my depiction of Jesus Christ so close to Easter. I swear it was not on purpose. but the muses sometimes like coincidences. or, if you prefer, synchronicities.)

well, it's finally done, the first part of my most ambitious project so far. it's the middle panel of The Waterman triptych, called Unio Mystica. it is a work full of symbolism and it's impossible to unfold each one of them here, since each symbol leads to a myriad of things, either Bible passages or occult teachings. (anyway, long time ago a person I met told me that the Bible is the greatest occult book in the world. as the years passed and as I advanced in my studies on astrology, tarot and symbols, I was forced to recognize he was totally correct. and my amazement about how all the things are so creatively and intelligently intertwined in this world just grows. with all my respect for the non-believers, with all this harmony I see and perceive I just can't believe there is no Creator!)

The Waterman is about the Age of Aquarius and how the words of the Christ will reveal themselves in all their purity and brightness. the main piece (Unio Mystica) is the macrocosm, in the figure of the Christ, while the surrounding ones are the microcosm, in the form of the Four Elements. when I was brainstorming this piece, I was lead in my research to this page and got in awe to see a picture of a waterman along with symbols of spirituality and transformation. both the picture and the page were what I call a gift from the Universe and provided me with the directions my work should take. all fit perfectly to my concept and initial ideas.

the central figure of the panel/triptych is a naked man carrying a vase of water. he exudes freedom and strength. on his body we see the main chakras lightened and tied, since the base of the spine to the the crown of the head, where it shows like a big multicolored flower. this is the perfect man, the man that was able to rise his kundalini and work his creative/divine potential to its fullest and becoming God. this man is the Christ, the highest model humankind can aspire. the enlightened spirit that incarnated in a dense, material body just like ours to make us learn that we are gods and that all those things he'd done, we could also do. in his hand he brings a rose instead of blood and wounds, to remind us that it's our existence in the flesh, with all its pains and struggles, that make us bloom as spirits.

he pours water over two figures at the bottom, that bathe in it in attitude of deliverance and communion. The water is an universal symbol of spirituality and rebirth. "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. " (Acts 2:17) That is the big spiritual quest humankind will confront when all the dogmatic forms of beliefs start being crumbed by progressive philosophies and scientific discoveries. then the words of Jesus will come through with new strength and understood "without the veil of the letter."

two details were painted without I being consciously aware of. one were the flames that appear on the figures foreheads, that remind the "tongues of fire" that came upon the apostles in the day of Pentecost. another detail is a little more "visionary": the "ribbons" that come down from the rose in a spiral that is very similar to the model of a human DNA. a fresh insight I just had is that, since our incarnations mold our DNA, who knows this will be one the huge scientific discoveries for the next decades that will lead us to the understanding of the immortality of the soul... and that the Master was right when he said "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3)

The Waterman: Unio Mystica

Watercolor on illustration board,
15 x 20
2009
$480

Middle panel of The Waterman triptych.


I can see the King coming.
Naked and bright, like all the truths should be.
Simple and strong, with stars in his eyes,
and heart of petals, bathing the ground.

I can see the King coming,
and he comes barefoot, hair in the wind,
with no jewels or swords,
like a simple man,
bringing drinking water on his shoulders.
His hands carry the roses that blossom in the cross,
and his crown is a thousand petals lotus.
The King smiles, he is beautiful
and from his mouth lilies sprout,
and all the elements dance at his feet.
In his words the god of me rises,
and fingers my soul with the colors of a whole Universe.
The golden serpent rises,
and I, the free Fool, grow wings,
and dance at the edge of a cliff of dreams.

I can see the King coming
bringing many Graals
that are given freely, in the hands of the rich and the poor,
in the hands of the sane and the ill,
and of the children in backyards.
His kingdom is not of this world, even being so close
that we almost can touch it.
And it's in it that I see him, in red sunny afternoons,
smiling like it was the beginning of the world,
spinning the stars of Aquarius
and telling me secrets.

in progress: ignis aeris

ready for a bit more of my beloved The Waterman tryptich? here's the underpainting:





it's amazing how I get energized when working with warm colors. I love all tones of blue and purples, but working with reds and oranges really make my day. I love how their pigments mix well and how they pop out the board.





I really like the way the lion skin came out. I think the abstraction fit well. it made me think about creating another piece using a lion as a focus and the same horizontal abstracts.



planning another tryptich for a near future. not that huge, though. it's a lot of work. my pieces are sort of independent from each other, so i don't get bored working on the same elements all the time. I may do something more simple next time, on smaller panels.

second panel finally in progress

I must confess I am proud of this one. :)











Ignis Aeris is the right panel of The Waterman triptych. it represents the elements Fire and Water, or the yang ones. the left panel will be called Terrae Aquae, and it will represent the ying elements Earth and Water.

I didn't intend to use too much symbolism in the side panels, since they are supposed to "frame" the main one, which I decided to call Unio Mystica (this is the very own you've been watching for a while, with the naked Christ.) the four elements are the base of the physical universe, or microcosm, where the Divine Spirit manifests.

in Ignis Aeris, the bottom figure is the Magician. this arcane represents the number One, the power of creation. his nature is pretty much Air/Fire, since he pursues the gifts of the intellect (Air) and of the power of will (Fire) combined. I wanted to represent him wearing the Nemean lion skin, like Hercules. Hercules is the epitome of hero, that guy who has the power of will, creativity, braveness and passion (all Fire qualities), as well as mental skills (Air) in enough quantity to be succeeded in his endeavors.

other symbols I used are the butterflies (for Air) and the phoenix ( for Fire, represented by the middle figure in a bird mask). all the gestures evoke spirituality and connection to the higher planes.

it was funny to notice, when I finished the sketch, that the group had gained a sort of a Bacchanalia aura. I think that the god Bacchus has a strong fire connection, with all that wine and ecstasy, not mentioning that his cult was also pretty wild and sexually indulgent... more Fire, impossible.

work in progress: the waterman IV

have not progressed significantly on The Waterman, since I've been distracted by domestic issues and also by the making of my new website. the piece also came out with more details than I was expecting, and this is always very time-consuming. I've been enjoying working at it, although I tend to slow down when I take too long in a piece.




decided to change the little fishes at the bottom. I didn't like the former ones, which were more abstract.







I think I should start working in the other panels (did I say that's supposed to be a triptych?) in order to find more fuel to continue the job and also to give my eyes a little refreshment. when you keep working for too long in a piece your eyes tend to get a little tired; seems that your sight get a little "distorted" and you start to misjudge things. colors don't look right anymore, you feel that some details shouldn't be there, it's a total mess. nothing like changing your focus a bit.

in progress: The Waterman III

in progress: the waterman II

I finished the penciling, leaving some details for later, as usual. now it is ready for the first wash.

the Divine is naked.

now I guess I can show the very beginning of my new creative effort, a project I've been cherished for a while, and that I decided to call The Waterman.






I told my husband the other night: "I want to paint Jesus naked." he just responded, after some of his characteristic little jokes, "just go ahead, my dear. you have my support."

I had confessed him that I had some apprehensions about it. not really religious ones, since I am not a Christian and I do not worship deities, but I am a total admirer of Jesus Christ. this man is my life role model, the example I try to keep in my mind and heart every minute. although to me he is not God himself, but some kind of older brother and master, he is a sacred symbol for many. my fear was to create controversies about putting a sacred symbol naked, and I don't want to offend anybody. but then I thought, "hey, wait a minute... this is art, and art is not supposed to follow rules. and since I'm the artist and I'm supposed to express my thoughts, I think that there's nothing offensive in naked bodies. naked is beautiful and my Jesus will be beautiful and yes, he will be naked."

in my work, Jesus is the waterman. my starting point to this concept is Luke 22:10, that says "a man will meet you carrying an earthen pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he goes in." that was a kind of announcement of the age of Aquarius. I then saw Jesus as the own man with the pitcher of water. he was not just the avatar of the Pisces era, for his message is universal and it will stay forever. and in the age of Aquarius it will be finally understood and followed in its purity, without "the veil of the letter".

that's the meaning of the nakedness of Jesus: the purity and truth of his message. nothing more to hide or being corrupted by men in their political interests, no more manipulative interpretations. just the truth, as it is. naked.

talking to my good friend Marcelo Peregrino later on the msn, I told him about my project and fears. Marcelo is a big fan of Jesus as much as I am, then I knew he would understand me. he responded me with a song by Gilberto Gil, a famous Brazilian musician (please forgive the rough translation):

If I want to talk to God,
I have to be alone,
I have to turn off the light,
I have to silence my voice.
(...)
I have to have my hands empty,
to have body and soul naked.

and then, my friend said, "the Divine is naked."

starting new artwork, in spite of some dark clouds

these have been strange days of lethargy and sickness around the house. first baby, then me, then my husband. according to my researches on the symptoms, it seems like a "family" gastroenteritis. I still feel nauseous and weak. baby looks better, my husband doesn't seem very fine yet. I was working in my new piece yesterday when I started to feel real bad and had to leave the board. freaky.

my new work is called The Waterman and it is intended to be a triptych. I wish I could get the 3 pieces finished until late this month. I've been brainstorming it for a while, made some studies but things do not seem totally in place yet. sometimes it starts almost like a blur, and then when I decide to adventure myself into the board, things simply happen. since I started working with the illustration boards I don't do preliminary sketches anymore. I like to preserve the freshness of the drawing, its initial energy, and the board is strong enough to bear all the erasing without getting damaged.

but anyway... I am very anxious to see Watchmen and I think that it will be possible only late this month. for total fans like me, this is the same as torture!