New Painting: “The Holy Instant”

Introducing:  “The Holy Instant”, 15″ x 30″, acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required) – SOLD

I keep thinking every next post will be a short one, but there’s a whole story behind this painting – one that started way before I painted it and continually evolved during the process. I’m sure it won’t end there either.

Fortunately and unfortunately, I got so much into the painting process that I forgot to photograph many of the steps along the way.  In the end, however, this painting has between 12-20 visible layers and countless invisible layers that I have yet to discover.

The Photo That Started It All:

I was at my housemate’s son’s girlfriend’s apartment for dinner one night.  Actually, she was renting it from one of her friends who happened to own two of my paintings – cool, eh?  It was a lovely evening – the company, the food, the atmosphere, the music.  I’m not sure how the technology worked, but I think the music was connected to the large flat screen TV on the wall that had a rotating wildlife photography slideshow on it. I recognized a few as famous shots.

A male red bird of paradise performing the practice of plumage display at a tree-top lek, where the males gather. The two central tail feathers, which are black and ribbonlike, have a plastic feel. Credit: Tim Laman

There was this one photo, however, that literally took my breath away.  I had a difficult time being present with my hosts every time this image appeared on screen.  It was as if it was sending vibrations of pure love through every cell of my being, elevating my spirit beyond the here and now to a space of timelessness.  Try navigating that while trying to hold dinner conversation…  I finally went up to the TV and waited for it to reappear again so I could take a picture of it to take home with me. I knew I wanted to paint it. I seem to have 3 themes going in the studio: spirit trees, messenger birds, and stylized humans having spiritual experiences.

It was only after I had finished the painting and put Google magic to work (using the words “red, yellow, bird, long tail feathers”) that I found out that this was a red bird of paradise photographed by Tim Laman in the rain forest of Papua New Guinea as part of a National Geographic project.  What would we do without Google!

Personal Symbolism:

As I was painting it, it dawned on me why the image may have had such a powerful effect on me.  I kept feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit and figured out that something about this bird reminded me of the many images of a radiating dove with its wings spread open that I had often seen in school or at church as a child – the image that often represents the Holy Spirit.

Before I had figured that out, however, I also felt a Christ-energy coming from it.  Although the head was down, it awoke in me the image of Jesus on the cross with his arms spread open. That wasn’t quite it though. As I was connecting to the energy, it occurred to me that it was more from the story after that story (not of the crucifixion or even the ascension), but when he came back down again.  There was this whole Heaven to Earth movement going on, a download of Divine Energy that I could not begin to describe (although I have done my best to do so…).

This is the kind of space I was painting in this past couple of weeks, layer after layer.  The fact that the main tail feathers ended up more like a pear-shaped mermaid’s tail is somewhat of an accident. I guess I subconsciously wanted or needed to put a bit of myself in there – the pear-shaped part, not the mermaid.  That brought the union of Heaven and Earth even deeper into the creative process. Then to frame all that with the two long ribbon-like feathers that were almost heart shaped was perfect – especially since I finished it on Valentine’s Day.

Cultural Symbolism:

Of course the name of the bird was perfect for what I’d been experiencing – bird of paradise. I was not surprised, yet totally thrilled to find out that it has had similar symbolism attached to it for two thousand years.  My Google research revealed that it was rumoured to have come from the Heavenly realms, from paradise, and symbolized the miracle of life on Earth.  The bird of paradise brought with it closeness to God or even favor from God.  And as I found on on many tattoo websites,

Because the bird is usually depicted in flight, those persons wearing a Bird of Paradise tattoo may be announcing to the world that their psychic kinship is with beings who prefer to ‘rise above it all.

It also has a deep spiritual significance for all peoples of Papua New Guinea, who use their feathers and dance their dances to get back the part of themselves that living takes away – a flying spirit.

The Name: “The Holy Instant”

The first name that came to me for this painting was “Holy Spirit”, but I changed my mind as I was listening to my friend read from her study group’s notes on A Course In Miracles (a unique, universal, self-study spiritual thought system that teaches that the way to Love and Inner Peace is through Forgiveness). You may know about the Course in Miracles through the work of Gabrielle Bernstein and Marianne Williamson (who will be in Ottawa on April 30, in Montreal on May 1 and here in St. John’s on May 4th – see details here). As my friend read about the holy instant, I recognized that expansive feeling inside me when I first saw the photo.

“The holy instant is a miniature of Heaven, sent you FROM heaven. …  in the absence of thinking, in the absence of reasserting the magnificent frame around the limited tiny miserable experience of life that you’re having, instead of that, you simply say, “Father, Holy Spirit, what is the truth here?  What is God’s truth here?”… Without that huge frame and all the meanings that you have all agreed to, there’s nothing to stand in the way of the direct experience . . . the simple direct experience of the divinity of everything and provide yourself the avenue for Awakening….The holy instant is a miniature of eternity. It is a picture of timelessness, set in a frame of time.  . . . so the whole of Heaven lies in this instant, borrowed from eternity, and set in time for you.” ~ Paul Tuttle channeling Raj (another name for Jesus), June 18 2011

Doesn’t that sound like what I was trying to describe?  I wouldn’t describe my life as a “limited tiny miserable experience”, but in comparison to living in the holy instant, I get what he’s saying.  My friend was reminded of that passage as I talked about the ornate frame of tangle patterns that I had painted outside of the quiet radiant space in which the bird of paradise existed.  I’m not sure if you can see it, but it all just fits and so this became “The Holy Instant”.

The Making Of:

As I mentioned, I worked on this over the span of a couple of weeks and layer upon layer. I don’t have many photos of the creative process, but have included what I have.

And here are a bunch of detail shots from the finished painting.

The cool thing, as always when I use Golden’s interference paints, is that in certain lights and from certain angles, you cannot see the radiant iridescent blue glaze on the left side of the canvas and violet on the right. The painting transforms as you move. It’s truly magical. That’s why a photo of many of my paintings cannot yet replicate the experience of being with an original. Still, I tried to capture it here for you.  These are not before and after shots, but photographs taken at slightly different angles.

“The Holy Instant” – SOLD
15″ x 30″
Acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas
(no framing required)

Go to my shop to see all available paintings & reproductions.

What do you think?

Or, more importantly,

how do you feel as you look at it?

Feel free to comment below.