Midway through October and the warm and sunny English Indian summer is over. I will soon be lighting cosy fires and I'm thinking of sewing an art quilt of sorts, and cuddle up in and read a few books. I feel I need a rest from the busy summer and Autumn and re-stock inspirations and dreams for the new paintings ahead.
Night Bearer
by Amanda Clark 2011
A dear etsy friend told me about a book called The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, 'a book I must read!' she says. My paintings reminded her of the story in The Wood Wife. So I ordered it two weeks ago and have just finished this amazingly magical story . I have read a similar story, but told in a completely different way by Charles De Lint, Memory and Dream. These stories tell of a magic that these artists had within to be able to create a portal for these mythical and enchanting creatures to be able to pass through into this world, exactly as they painted or wrote poetry about them. A must read for anyone that loves fantasy, fairytale, and I feel, a connection to Carlos Castonada books.
Imagining through the paintings I have created over the years, did the subjects already existed here or in the ether or maybe even on another dimension? There's so much talk on manifesting these days, if I ever had this kind of magic, I would choose to only bring more beauty into our world.
how wonderful and of course stories like this have been told. i often feel as though I am opening to a spirit that wants to come to our world in the form of art. I find myself asking a face 'what color are your eyes, your hair, what do you want around you?'. Thank you for sharing these books. I think these two authors are friends from what i have read on Terri's blog.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I forgot to tell you, this painting is absolutely enchanting, overflows with magic and beauty!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tammie. There's so many ways to be creative in this wonderful and mysterious world and I agree with you about being an artist. Sometimes it seems paintings almost paint themselves. Your artwork is truly amazing! XX
ReplyDeletewow!
ReplyDeleteI love the beauty of your post!
magnificent drawing!
and I'm totally ordering the book!
Such a gorgeous painting! It does indeed have a very mythic feel to it.
ReplyDeleteI've long been an admirer of both Windling and DeLint. If you're not apready familiar with it, you might want to explore the archives of "The Journal of Mythic Arts" here: http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/jomahome/ Lots of good stuff in there!
Beautiful, beautiful painting Amanda! I love 'The Wood Wife', and have read it many times, it's such a beautiful story about the power of the muse and how it can bring joy, and sometimes despair. Have you discovered the paintings of Remedios Varo? I discovered her years ago at uni, and when I first read 'The Wood Wife', I thought of her paintings. And as it turns out, she was the inspiration for Terri's book!
ReplyDeleteAs Donna-Q says, if you haven't already checked out the JOMA archives, you're in for a treat!
To quote yourself: "if I ever had this kind of magic, I would choose to only bring more beauty into our world."
ReplyDeleteBut Amanda! That's exactly what you are doing!! Love your paintings, love your blog.
Blessings
Emma
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This is another magical painting Amanda! Beautiful & dreamy.
ReplyDeleteThat is one book I still want to get hold of...I LOVE charles De Lint & have read a few of his. They do inspire my artistic muse :)
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