Orange Black (Phoenix)

Many of my paintings are acts of faith – unplanned releases of color splashed and streaked across canvas that reveal their own shape and design largely separate from human cultivation.Orange Black (Phoenix) began with such a release, and emerged as an image first of the fear and destruction wildfires create, where humans have little choice but to witness their power, and then the evolution of all in their path. As I worked, the image shifted – culminating as one of hope, and trust – or faith.Fire and it’s aftermath change what was before, ultimately enriching the soil, relationships to the earth and each other, and spirit – much as we and the land rest, release and regenerate every seven years, in Shmita. As commanded during the planned Shmita year, whole communities let go land and properties, and share resources to survive; as fire consumed the things that made us separate, ownership mattered little, debts among each other erased, at least temporarily, resources were shared and meditations on meaning rose.In this piece, the first, or the obvious imagery – the devastation, the separation from the land – is not all. The charred land, abandoned, released from it’s human control, emerged, in it’s own time and way, regenerated, strong and fertile. The plan behind Shmita.Those golden blossoms that shimmer at the tips of the black, amidst the smoke, evidence regeneration, and embody trust, and hope: faith well-founded in letting go. (24x30x1.5″ acrylic on canvas)