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Voids

Voids, is a series of paintings, photos and writings, that I'm currently working on. The series looks at the spaces we start to fill in our lives, from the moment we are born. Our lives, as babies, and as a child, begin to be filled, firstly, by the interaction between us and our parents, home life, the surroundings and family we find ourselves in. Then, new challenges begin to face us, as we fill our lives with education, relationships, work and spirituality.

The moment a woman becomes pregnant, her life changes forever. Her life will never be the same again. The picture, above, Voids 1 - Black Moon, is about her choices. Some women decide to get rid of their babies and abort the child, within them. However, the presence of the unborn child and the decision to have an abortion, will always be in the back of their mind and haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Most women decide to go through with their pregnancies, and the physical change to their body and future responsibilities for the child are

a wonderful, but uncertain time.

There's all this stuff going on inside the woman's head and body, but hopefully, the end result, a beautiful, baby, boy or girl is worth the transition and change.

Whatever,a woman chooses to do with her pregnancy, the space and void of her future, will never be the same again.

Voids, looks at all aspects of human life, from birth to death. I question my own upbringing, my relationship with my parents. The spaces, within our lives, fill up, from the moment we are born. As we come to the end of our lives, what do we expect ? What becomes of us after we die ? We all have to die. Atheist, or believer. It's inevitable.

Personally, I believe in the life to come. It's part of my Christian belief. That Jesus Christ paved the way for us to begin the next phase of our existence, once we die. To be with God. And that while we are here, now, and during our lives, visiting this planet, He loves us. He is willing to help us, and, if we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and lives, and live within us. What we've done in the past doesn't matter. It's the here and now, that counts ! From the moment you wake up until you go to bed at night, He is always with you, in your daily tasks, routines and life.

Ask and receive ! Simple as that ! Life-changing ! Staggeringly brilliant !

Not everyone agrees with what I believe, and I truly respect that. As I hope, people will respect what I believe.

From birth, God gave us freedom of choice, one of them being, the freedom to believe in Him , or not !

My paintings are here to be enjoyed, and I hope respected for their artistic qualities, whatever their content.

We can't choose where we are born, and into what family etc. But life choices, and other events make us the people, and individuals. we are.

The series, is a much more experimental one for me as a painter and artist.

I'll let you know how it progresses, and give sneak peeks.

Every picture in the VOIDS series has a different style. Different reference points. Some are based on what has been happening to other people. Literally illustrating the situation they are going through and the void left in their lives. Others are more personal and capture the time and mood I, myself, am feeling. In some of these, I've used myself as the model.

The painting (above right) The Caged Man signifies some elements of my own life and my many,many, failings, stupidity and rebelliousness and years of back-sliding as a Christian and the horrible,dreadful, VOID of separation from God and sadly, the stuff, that I see happening to other people in the World and observe around me.

The series is by no means finished yet. It's an ongoing thing. It gets a bit heavy and personal. It's like one guy asked me, 'Do people really want to see dead babies, nobody will ever buy pictures like that !' Yet the history of art is full of uncomfortable, memorable, images by Goya and others like Edvard Munch's, Scream and Picasso's, Guernica.

With VOIDS,though, there is a danger of me becoming Marvin the robot............ a bit depressive !

So, Da...Daaaah, I'm working on a new series of paintings at the moment.........very different again. A celebration of colour and design. Totally different, pure and benign ! I'll post some on my website soon. The COLOUR Series

To see an early, not quite there! example Click here to go to my Flickr picture account / photostream.

My daughter Rachael on a recent visit took a shine to it and promptly carried it off home to Suffolk.

Below is the three paintings that make up Awakening from VOIDS. It's what I've needed,recently, and what we all need at some point in our life.

This small sketch depicts isolation. A woman I met a few years back said that colour used in it really represented her state of mind and life.

I see a broken life. One that needs healing.

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