Omnis caro faenum* (Savannah) - Oil on cradled panel

 

 

 

Omnis caro faenum* (Savannah) - Oil on cradled panel

 

My paintings usually start with a good ref’, that I end up thinking about a lot before committing to painting, and this was one awesome ref! 

 

In part it’s about the joy of youth and our feelings of being indestructible when we’re young. We’re often at the peak of our physical strength and beauty and understandably many of us revel in that, and why not? Youth and beauty are to be enjoyed, but it’s also about the fleeting nature of our ‘nature’. We are, in a sense, born to die and nothing makes you focus more on what’s important in life than the impending threat of death.

 

Life can be like the trash compactor in Star Wars. Every fear we face in our lives can cause us to shrink back, to give up ground and that can make that room get smaller, until we’re living in a teeny tiny room that’s trying to squeeze the very life out of you, but with every fear we face we have the choice to either let it make our room (our lives) smaller and reduce our liberty, or we can get back up and attempt to push those walls back out. Sometimes you might need to call on someone to help (hopefully it won't be a couple of droids), but the important thing is to push back and to regain that ground if you can.

 

So this painting is, in part, a celebration of life and resilience. After her accident Savannah could have chosen to give up skateboarding and be robbed of the joy it gives her, but she chose to get back on the deck and embrace the injury and the opportunity for personal growth that it provided. She pushed back at the fear and regained the ground and the enjoyment of the thing she loved. 

 

*latin for “all flesh is grass” 

 

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