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Description
Between Chaos and Order There is the Raven

This painting, in a way, is a self-portrait. It was inspired by the legend, “Raven Steals the Sun, The Moon, and the Stars.” After reading the story one evening before going to sleep, I had a dream of this painting. Many months later, here it is. It is my own interpretation of the story. I have chosen to depict a moment when Raven is pulling the sun over the horizon for the first time. Chaos is being pushed back, and the world is unfolding into the first morning; order is coming into the world. Of course, chaos will always have a presence here. It is what we are made of!

The Raven pierces through the darkness, but it seems an uneasy balance. The people who are waking to the new light are filled with the seeds of the night sky, as is Raven himself. In fact, he seems at times to be the very night itself. The eclipsed moon is his eye, and his plumage is both fire and cool starlight. He bursts forward from the trees like a beast in nightmare, and yet he brings a gift of warmth and comfort. This first sunrise is not a placid thing. It is the beginning of questions. As it is the First Day, it's very flowering demands that there must come to pass a Last Day.

And this is where the painting floats. The trees are beginning to put forth leaves, and yet, they might also be dying. After all, what else does it mean to be alive? I have placed myself among those trees, walking in the direction of chaos, of entropy. Every thing in the painting is headed toward the same path. And yet, it is a celebration! Because of the light, we are now able to behold the wonders of creation and recognize that we are a part of it! We rejoice at the dawn, we meditate into the night, we tentatively uncurl into new experiences, and sometimes charge forth boldly, flying like the raven. We spread out spirit wings and fly, into a realm of stars and fire, but are grounded by the good soil and the grass under our feet.

The light has brought complexity, and how wonderful it is.

Description
Between Chaos and Order There is the Raven

This painting, in a way, is a self-portrait. It was inspired by the legend, “Raven Steals the Sun, The Moon, and the Stars.” After reading the story one evening before going to sleep, I had a dream of this painting. Many months later, here it is. It is my own interpretation of the story. I have chosen to depict a moment when Raven is pulling the sun over the horizon for the first time. Chaos is being pushed back, and the world is unfolding into the first morning; order is coming into the world. Of course, chaos will always have a presence here. It is what we are made of!

The Raven pierces through the darkness, but it seems an uneasy balance. The people who are waking to the new light are filled with the seeds of the night sky, as is Raven himself. In fact, he seems at times to be the very night itself. The eclipsed moon is his eye, and his plumage is both fire and cool starlight. He bursts forward from the trees like a beast in nightmare, and yet he brings a gift of warmth and comfort. This first sunrise is not a placid thing. It is the beginning of questions. As it is the First Day, it's very flowering demands that there must come to pass a Last Day.

And this is where the painting floats. The trees are beginning to put forth leaves, and yet, they might also be dying. After all, what else does it mean to be alive? I have placed myself among those trees, walking in the direction of chaos, of entropy. Every thing in the painting is headed toward the same path. And yet, it is a celebration! Because of the light, we are now able to behold the wonders of creation and recognize that we are a part of it! We rejoice at the dawn, we meditate into the night, we tentatively uncurl into new experiences, and sometimes charge forth boldly, flying like the raven. We spread out spirit wings and fly, into a realm of stars and fire, but are grounded by the good soil and the grass under our feet.

The light has brought complexity, and how wonderful it is.