Celtic Knot with Butterfly Box

Celtic Knot with Butterfly Box

hand painted

© 2014

available for sale in my Artfire shop HERE

If you are new to my blog, this is the second in the series. The first was actually a small painting that looks a lot like this one, though with a more intense cobalt blue. You can see the other one HERE.

Or view most of my butterfly boxes HERE.  

Celtic Knot Border with Butterfly

Celtic Border with Butterfly

a 4.75" x 7" painting

© 2014

for sale in my Artfire on-line shop HERE

This is an off-shoot of butterfly boxes I have been painting. It is done on pine with artist grade acrylic paints and is a small painting.

The butterfly symbolizes transformation, profound changes of the soul (evolution), pure spirit, joy, uplifting grace

The knot symbolizes beginnings and endings (and ever-more beginnings and endings) in a timeless way. In ancient times, Celtic knots were given to ward off sickness or setbacks (and in the end, for longevity). 

In this painting, the transformation and joyous nature of the butterfly is synchronized with infinity. The transformation of the butterfly is also protected from sickness and setbacks.

I think I may have painted this about my own life at this time! I pass this spiritually potent meaning onto the next owner.  

fool jester aceo

Jester 

original ACEO 

(an ACEO is a mini 2.5" x 3.5" original drawing) 

© 2014

for sale through my Artfire on-line shop HERE

As stated this is a mini original drawing the size of a baseball card. To find out why artists make mini drawings, go HERE to a Wikipedia article on the subject.

I often start minis to see if I would like to do larger pieces with the same color schemes and subject. This is one of those pieces.

Why do customers buy them? Affordability, as an investment in case the artist gets famous, to frame for a small nook, to put in a book with your other ACEOs, and any other thing you can think of.

I have been drawing and painting fools since I began my art career. It is one of the dominant themes in my work. 

The fool represents wisdom (but it is often wisdom that is not heard or taken seriously). Fools were non-threatening entertainment for kings and queens, even if they poked fun of the royal figures they worked for on a constant basis. They were about the only ones allowed to jest! Many of them were thought to be insane, as they talked in riddles, and the jesters probably smartly played the part of insanity to keep their heads. Therefore, the fool also represents the unconscious. Since the fool is always represented by the numerical number zero in playing cards and in tarot decks, he is not really part of the intrigues and manipulations that go on in court (he has nothing to win or lose), but can sit in or substitute briefly if someone is missing from the deck. The fool in the Tarot represents a figure who is not conventional, who takes wild unpredictable chances, who is non-threatening even if he should talk about things which might normally piss people off. The fool also represents innocence, new experiences, an observer and speaker about matters pertaining to personal growth, a wild leap, a leap into the unknown, rampant untamed creativity and the willingness to forge ahead into new territory.

And by the way, in the midst of continuing in the fantasy art tradition I began many years ago, I am also pursuing an MSW, and taking yet a new direction with my art (for scapegoats, black sheep, for the bullied and abused of our society). More about that new direction HERE. That would be my one leap and leap of faith for the year!