Watercolor from the “Spirit Lovers” series, 15″x22″, framed to 24″x 32″, 1250.
Almost 34 years ago, a friend and collector, Paul Moffitt, dropped by my home in Oklahoma City while he had a layover from his cross country flight. Although I had met him in Boulder, CO, during one of my annual exhibits at the White Horse Gallery, he had moved to Medford, OR, I and hadn’t seen him as often since then. It was a pleasant afternoon as we met for dinner and and caught up with each other’s lives. Now remarried for several years, Paul, who was about my own dad’s age, shared his excitement and contentment with both life and love, along with a few wise/thoughtful words. What I remember most about that afternoon is Paul’s comment,
“What matters most is who you’re with for that last dance.” He further explained to me, “It’s great if that first and last dance are with the same person, but if it can’t be that way -and either way- the one you’re eventually sharing the last part of your life is the sweetest and dearest.”
For those like myself, who have “kissed a lot of toads“, that was an especially beautiful sentiment to ponder. It’s the last dance that we savor! Knowing that it also applied to couples like my parents (who will have their 72nd wedding anniversary in July of 2022) because they found each other the “first time”, and equally as well to myself, (and many, many others) who found love after numerous “learning experiences”, this was a wonderous awakening!
I’m sure that this epiphany added to my understanding and appreciation of love, and also contributed to my earlier -and current- “Spirit Love” paintings. It was and is, however, extremely important to me that the viewer is aware that we’re considering the souls or spirits. The translucent quality of most of the figures in my artworks helps to establish that this is the spiritual -not the physical- aspect that we see. In the landscapes, this ethereality is further enhanced by painting cast shadows from the “more real” trees and blades of grass, but not from the spirit couples.
Even though two individuals are pictured in these artworks, the one combined image of the two represents the relationship. I’ve often heard -as many of you, no doubt have also heard- that when two people are joined, they lose themselves in each other and become “one”. I don’t believe that this is the (entire) truth. When two loving souls unite, neither is lost in the other. Each soul retains its uniqueness. A synergy happens. There continues to be two souls, but when they touch, a third entity is created: the relationship.
Today, I want to share with you some more of my Spirit Lovers paintings, accompanied by favorite quotes on LOVE.
Souls in Love – “Know that she is the life in my body and in my soul”. ~Rumi
A Forever Kind of Love – “My heart has burned with passion and has searched forever.” `~Rumi
Together We’re Magic – “Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick together as long as we live?” ~Walt Whitman
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” ~Aristotle
“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” ~Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
“If a thing loves, it is infinite.” ~William Blake
“I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine love.” ~William Blake
“Children of the future age / Reading this indignant page / Know that there was once a time / When love, sweet love, was thought a crime.” ~William Blake
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