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Is Lion, Is Fed

10/8/2020

6 Comments

 
Picture
Is Lion, Is Fed
"Is Lion, Is Fed" - acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas, 16 x 20 x 1.5.  Ready to hang (Sides are painted; no need for framing.  Hanging wire is attached)  Available here and at Artfinder.


As the drought-starved
eland forgives
the drought-starved lion
who finally takes her,
enters willingly then
the life she cannot refuse,
and is lion, is fed,
and does not remember the other.

​from "The Weighing" by  Jane Hirschfield



Thank you in advance, dear reader, for continuing to go into these darker corners with me this  month, as I explore the more intense side of portraiture.  

As with Monday's portrait, this one told me exactly who he was.  Hirschfield's  poem came immediately to mind.  The phrase is lion, is fed​ resonates with my in multiple ways.
Outside the context of the poem, the phrase is a reassuring mantra of strength and abundance to this leo woman, who sometimes needs reminders of her own ability to independently survive (and even thrive)  during turbulent times.  

When I put is lion, is fed back into the context of the poem, it reminds me of the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, who teaches us we are not separate from any other thing in the world.  We are the lion, we are the eland, we are each other.   It was announced earlier this week that Nhat Hanh, nearly 94 years old, has stopped eating and is preparing to depart.  He, like the eland, becomes part of something else, and yet he, like us, was always a part of everything.  Even you.  Even me.  There is comfort there.

About the painting:  Beginning with an inspiration image (a woman, this time, used for posture and shapes, but not the face) and another Adrian Ghenie palette photo, then building layers and blending, moving, invoking happy accidents with rubber wedge, squeegee, paper towels and hands.
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Adrian Ghenie palette
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inspiration pose photo
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roughing in the form
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finding the face
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building layers to later destroy
6 Comments
Dotty Seiter Macbook link
10/8/2020 10:10:01 am

1. The spirit of the words 'is lion, is fed' is captured brilliantly in all the places where you have not delineated, where there are no boundaries.

2. Every element of this post touched me, Jen.

Reply
jen
10/8/2020 08:04:00 pm

ooooh Dotty! Thank you so very much! I am in a deeply feeling zone right now...it means a lot to me that you connected with this. Yay! xo

Reply
David W Stoner link
10/8/2020 10:19:42 am

This is another incredible painting, intense, poetic, raw, pointing to life in all its severity and sorrow. I love this painting, Jen, as well as your compelling description: "He (Thich Nhat Hanh), like the eland, becomes part of something else, and yet he, like us, was always a part of everything. Even you. Even me. There is comfort there." Yes, there is comfort there. Wow, Jen. Just wow. 🙏💕

Reply
jen
10/8/2020 08:06:18 pm

David!!! Can I tell you what a huge compliment it is to have a writer such as yourself comment on my art AND my writing? I feel quite delighted! Thank you. "Life in all its severity and sorrow" can be beautiful in a very raw, vulnerable kind of way. I am so happy to have captured even a hint of that. xo

Reply
Carol Edan link
10/9/2020 03:21:06 am

"We are the lion, we are the eland, we are each other." Thanks!
Dynamic, deep, consoling!
Thanks for the process photos!

Reply
jen
10/11/2020 10:27:50 am

Carol, you are most welcome. Consoling, indeed! More of that in the world would be lovely, yes? xo

Reply



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  • Home
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