Her Quest for Illumination

"Her Quest for Illumination" is a painting exploring the strength of women, when we begin honoring our own calling and looking for our own answers regarding our purpose in life. The painting is highly metaphorical, even though it was partially inspired by the Needle's Eye rock formation located in Custar Park, SD, USA. The woman is climbing rocks which i modifiied slightly to more closely resemble a woman standing behind her daughter. These represent female ancestors and the "needle's eye" in the rocks would be formed by the mother's braid and her back, which the woman is stretching across, as she climbs upwards. This represents her need, step away from her mother as she grows into an adult, so she can manifest her own dreams, while still relying on the foundation of her upbringing, to guide her as she climbs. The possibilities for her life are as vast as the Milky Way, and beyond. So often, when women begin the quest to pursue their own calling, they feel a bit lost, because the narratives of patriarchy have failed them, and have starved them from acheiving their full potential. The first steps they take to separate themselves from their oppression, feel awkward and as though they are moving through darkness. Yet for her own sake, she must make this journey forward, to connect to those things which are so much bigger than herself; so she can fulfill her own destiny. When she has the courage to begin this process, regardless of whether or not she can see her way forward, change begins to happen. As her "eyes adjust to the dark" she learns to trust all her senses and slowly picks her way forward. Then, as she grows more assured of her own abilities, and she develops the skills of self-discipline and perseverance, she reaches the needle's eye, and it is like she is nolonger "in the dark." Now, she gets to see the universe within her, unfold, before her eyes as she aspires to make her dreams a tangible reality.

This painting is done on Claire-Fontaine soft pastel matt. I used Sennelier, Blue Earth, Schminke, Grumbacher, Jackson's and Pitt Pastels.