Galleries – Works of Spiritrealism

For over 40 years my painting has focused primarily on the landscape. A passion that still occupies me to this day. I work to uncover the universal language contained within the natural world, filling the common daily setting with it’s aura of mystical divinity and the suggestion of “other worldly experiences”, what some might call the experience of “non-ordinary reality”, which is always before our eyes’ but hidden by the veil of our ego. However, on occasion I create works that don’t fit into neat categories, this page contains a few of these. Regardless of stylistic approach or genre, I see my path as an artist – as a way of life. It is an expression of my connection with the Universe -in and around me. It is a way of seeing and being in the world, a way of showing up and being human – making connection with compassionate awareness. I have always said that the greatest work of art is the way we live our life, joining in the creation to manifest something that is hopefully, more than the sum of it’s parts, as well as a thing of beauty and contribution of positive energy into the world. I rarely paint angst, being that I believe in the healing power of beauty, but on occasion I am propelled to express that aspect of the Truth of our existence and it must be told. These works are not presented in any chronological order

In the 1970’s I coined the term Spiritrealism to describe my vision, how, for the lack of a better word, -the spiritual – can manifest in the so-called mundane realities of every day life. Early in my career I wrote,“We are given the opportunity to participate in creation every day of our lives. Creating art is a form of worship, a form of spirituality born through creative living that connects us to the cultivation of humanity and the fabric of the universe. A process that has been going on since the dawn of civilization”. – Masla

Kalya Tapasya – The Transforming Fire of Time, (Self Portrait completed on my 50th birthday, 2007), 40″ x 30″
Acrylic, acrylic gels, modeling paste, pumice and pigmented inks on canvas

Monica Meditating (Antiparos, Greece)
oil & alkyd on linen 66″x52″

This painting, done from the plein air watercolor I did of Monica Meditating in Anti Paros, Greece when traveling through Europe in 1981, is a nod if not a quote of Casper David Friedrich’s 1982, “Woman at a Window”, a portrayal of his wife in his studio. I painted a trompe l’oiel version of Friedrichs’ painting in postcard format, “apparently taped” to the left side of the canvas. The reproduction here of this large canvas is not great so I have posted a detail of this segment below, (also not the best quality photo, but gives you an idea of the painting).

In Friedrich’s Painting, The woman is trapped within the confines of her room, emphasized by the strong vertical lines of the composition. Many of Freidrichs’ both compositional and symbolic signature devices are at play here, (in my view, they are not separate, but support one another). The cross form is repeated not just in the window pane, but in the woman herself intersecting with the ledge as she leans out, yearning for spiritual, and material,  emancipation. Remember, in this time period, like much of human history, woman have been seen as property, not much more than slaves, and within Monica’s lifetime, it was only in the last approximately 50 years , (the 1970’s) that a woman in the U.S. was allowed to have her own credit card or hold property in her own name! The cross is the intersection of the Divine and the terrestrial.  The ethereal beyond she gazes toward, being blocked by so many material boundaries. The figure with her back to us, forces us to identify with both her yearning and her confinement.

Monica Meditating is arranged in a similar pictorial context to Freidrichs’ painting, however, due to the differences in both time and our philosophical and practical approaches to spirituality, my symbolism is quite different. I share with and have been inspired with this giant of German Romantic painting who elevated landscape painting, beyond the mere pictorial, by recognizing and infusing his paintings with the spirituality inherent in nature. In my vision, Monica is not trapped within the confines of her “material condition”. There is no separation of “Spiritual” and “Material” in Creation, (the illusion of separateness is in our vision and perceptions) – therefore the doors of the painting are both open inside and out and the same light, evenly dispersed, pervades both the interior and exterior. She is engaged in meditation, experiencing the spiritual presence of Being. We meditate to identify our consciousness with that “transcendent reality”, to fill our day to day life, and hopefully, moment to moment consciousness with the spirit of loving, compassionate awareness so that our ever changing bodies become temples of that light.

There are many layers of symbolism here, such as the moon, representing the “Divine Feminine”, (which I see sorely lacking in our society and feel we so desperately need if we are to survive this century), too much to write about .

Detail from Monica Meditating (Antiparos, Greece)
oil & alkyd on linen 66″x52″

Selves-Portrait
Oil, alkyd, charcoal, and ink on linen with wood and acrylic paint. 96″x96″

Self Portrait In Material Energy
oil, charcoal, and ink on found canvas 33″x71″, 1989

Supper’s Ready, Shall We Say Grace?
oil and acrylic on linen 53″x66″

 

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas

Inspiration for the title of this painting, (as well as a key figure lifted from it), is Francesco Goyas’ “3rd of May, Execution of the Defenders of Madrid”. Honoring the victims (and lamenting for the barbarism) of those that were executed after rebelling against Napoleons take over of Madrid. One of the first and most powerful anti-war, anti-fascist paintings of its kind, gets a strong nod here. The 30th of May, (the title I chose to reference Goyas 3rd of May) is certainly not the first persecution of the Defenders of Real Democracy, when our government has acted more like a fascist state then a civilized Democracy, (there are numerous such instances within the last century and certainly within my short lifetime alone), but it marks a significant fascist act during a time of great polarization in our society that has fueled and led to many more such acts, (In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little Steel strike in the United States). History will note the it was on the 25th of May when George Floyd was brutally murdered by Minnesota Police, sparking social outrage and protest across the nation. Within days the “leader” of the Free World” who had declared himself the “Law and Order President”, (a refrain popularized by racist political leader George Wallace and others), pulled his publicity stunt in front of the St. John’s Episcopal church and the administration, (William Barrs order) had sent a violent “goon squad”- (Federal Officers  in riot gear that “tear gassed” – fired pepper balls and flash-bang grenades) to break up peaceful protesters at Lafayette Park near the front of the white house, (a number of the protesters were senior Clergy and members of that church). These victims of this fascist violence are the very persons that these “goons” (dict. def.: a bully or thug, especially one hired to terrorize or do away with opposition), had they been acting honorably, are payed to protect – you, me and all the Citizens of a Real Democracy, who have a constitutional right to peaceful protest. The painting does not just draw on that one event, but several from around the country. I’ll point out several of the symbolic elements, (aside from the obvious reference to Goya), in the details of the painting below.

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 1

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 2

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 3

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 4

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 5

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas
Detail 6

Unrecognized Essential Workers Series: 30th of May, 2020, Persecution of the Defenders of a Real Democracy
Cobra oil on 48″ x 72″ Fredrix canvas

 

underpainting for Self Portrait Turning 50
ink on panel

Self Portrait (Turning 50)
oil, alkyd, ink and acrylic modeling paste on prepared wood panel

 

Cathartic Self Portrait, Just after my father died, January 1, 1989
oil on linen 12×15