A few years back, when I first was exploring the concept of Spirit Animals in my artwork, I painted a series of ravens on cairns. In fact, ravens made it into many of my paintings at that time, and I secretly believed that they were acting as messengers to me, inspiring me to pay closer attention to my inner muse...
Ravens are important birds in many cultures. To some they are symbolic of intuition and are believed to hold the power to connect the earthly realms with the spirit realm. Cairns, structures constructed of stacked stones, are often used as landmarks or markers to help guide one's way. The two pair meaningfully together in my mind.. and together they are the messenger on the guidepost... I have not painted a raven on a cairn in quite awhile, but this one came up in my consciousness today, out of the blue, and so I listened and I painted.
Because the raven is in mid-caw, I see it as delivering that message directly and presently. In fact, can you see the little plume of mist coming out of the raven's mouth? You can almost hear it calling to you, can't you? :)
Sometimes it can be hard to get out of ones own way and allow ideas to flow, but I think that when you can, it is when the best ideas come. This Raven is a harbinger of that flow of ideas.. ideas that are yet to come, but they are like the mist that is the visual manifestation of a message... and the cairn is the promise that guidance will be there when it is needed.. Transformation happens when we listen for the message and are open to the guidance that is there for all of us.
"Transformation", oil on panel, 7"x7", click here for purchasing details
