Two otters warming the feet of St Cuthbert after his vigil in the ocean has always been a very captivating image for myself and many others I’m sure. One take away is that God is watching our feet and where they may tread, and will show up when we pray. I would love to take a pilgrimage up to Durham and see where he rests and visit the lands he once tread. What will be exciting in this series is the variations of landscape, and how they influence the Saints. I think it will be important to reflect the nature of these landscapes in each print. Which is why I am very fond of the Japanese woodcut tradition, particularly Hokusai and Hiroshige. They have found a wonderful way to express the dynamics of nature. The focus wasn’t on perfect reproduction of how they saw things, but an abstracted and lively reproduction of how they saw things. Incorporating the essence of the world in which they viewed. This art one could argue is a lot harder to get right than realistic rendering. If each thing has an essence, a purpose for being, then it is endued with a divine touch, and therefore an infinite quality. The Romanian artist Brancussi expresses this truth far better than I can.
I really love this. Hopefully I'll be in a place to buy a print in the not too distant future.
This artwork is so moving -- truly, an example of beauty as a reenchantment of the world.
Love the concept of beaitiful simplicity which is not easy to achieve. The effort invested is finally rewarded for the artist if no one else.
It's always hard to know whether you've hit the sweet spot of too much or too little!