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Catch up on last weeks Rock Art Series Painting no. 6 reveal HERE.
Now you’ve seen the painting, how did I get to the title and what led me to paint the very odd scene depicting pond-scum, moon goddesses, a phoenix and a serpent — just to name a few?!
Battling the Chaos
Chaoskampf is German for the struggle against chaos — demiurge means ‘god’.
What in the blazes is this painting about?
Come stumble down the rabbit-hole with me on this, the most outlandish rock art adventure yet!
The Emotions Whilst Painting
‘Chaoskampf Demiurge’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen — Rock Art Painting no. 6 (Templeton)
Now, if you’ve just joined this Rock Art journey, let me fill you in on it a bit: I paint to the music of the selected artist (in this case, Templeton) and paint whatever comes to me in the process (a kind of meditative, ‘mindless’ painting).
I jotted down, on the side of the canvas stretcher, the emotions being stirred whilst I put paint and various bits of other matter to canvas. It went something like this:
Strength
Powerful
Humble
Life by Design
Life by Desire
Fire/Flame/Phoenix
Sea of Emotion
Passion
Passivity
A lot of these emotions seem dichotomous. Thing is, I think this painting is essentially about dichotomy and the duality of life — especially the ‘light’ and the ‘dark’. This seems to represent the power struggle of two opposing sides.
Breaking it Down and Dipping into Legend
So, we have a bevy of beautiful, wistful goddesses bathing in moonlight on the upper left hand side of the painting — a very poignant display of femininity.
We have a pond (no, it’s not a ‘cosmic’ scene as such — I checked in with spirit right at the end and was told this upper part of the painting is water. I therefore did a blue glass paint wash over it, so in the flesh, it looks more fluid) — the water is imbued with binary code (like in the Matrix), infinity symbols (8) and what looks like giant eyeballs.
The ‘eyeballs’ feel to me like clusters of cells — the start of life — especially as the serpent of chaos seems to be electrifying it into existence. Alternatively, the serpent could be giving ‘shock treatment’ to the organism, inducing a perpetual state of amnesia to its true state of divinity. Hmmm…
In the bottom right-hand corner we have half of what looks like a vortex/void with balls of light/essence of life-forms/spirit being shot out of its center.
Finally, we have a great ruddy phoenix in the middle! What a surprise that was for me…this painting looks like a lethal cocktail! Feathers everywhere!
The Rise of the Phoenix
The Phoenix is a mythological creature that lives a long time and is reborn from its own ashes in a cyclical death and rebirth loop.
It is considered ‘the Royal bird’ and is also associated with the sun (in Egypt the bird god, Bennu is linked with being a phoenix). You can read more about the phoenix HERE.
Could the position of this bird in the painting be humankinds hope? The ability of the pure gold nature of the human spirit rising up to reclaim its sovereignty and put order to chaos?
A Jewish Extraction
I found this excerpt from a site called monstropedia.org — rather interestingly, it states:
“In Jewish legend, the phoenix’s name is Milcham. According to tradition, after Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she became jealous of the immortality and purity of the other creatures in the garden. Eventually, she persuaded all the animals except the phoenix to share in her fallen state by eating from the forbidden tree. God rewarded the phoenix by setting him up in a walled city where he could live in great peace for 1000 years. At the end of every 1000-year period, the bird is consumed by fire and reborn from an egg found in its ashes. One variation of this Jewish legend states that at the end of each 1000-year period, the phoenix’s body becomes small and featherless like a baby’s and then he grows up all over again. In any case, the Angel of Death may never touch him.”
The Meaning and Beginning…
So, I think this picture is about our rise against chaos.
The human spirit must be victorious over our ‘invisible’ oppressors and all the illusions they have woven into the fabric of our matrix.
We are standing on the precipice — we must start to own our lives, take responsibility, realize our own divinity and power and take flight. *Squawk!*
Stick it to the man, people! We control our destinies and we are sovereign over our existence. We create our lives, hell, we created the multiverses!!! Get with the program and claim your divine rights! Pull yourself out of the ashes and rise — make your stand.
Honouring the Legend
I give much thanks to the awesome musical and cosmic talents of Templeton — without which I would not have been able to probe into the depths of these mysterious legends.
I have often spoken to him about where he gets his musical inspiration from and he tells me that most of it is channeled. He explained ‘it’s like getting downloads from the universe in the packages and forms of songs — melodies and lyrics’.
To sample more tasty tunes and get up to speed on information of this delicious man, please visit www.templetonuniverse.com.
You can hear his songs at Soundcloud by following this link: LISTEN HERE FOR FREE
Or you can view and listen to this talent by watching the YouTube videos below:
Last week I gave a sneak peek of this painting (you can read it HERE) — I’m now going to take you through the pictorial stages that led up to the finished piece.
So, enough chit-chat — let’s dive into it! 🙂
Well, there you have it!
Afloat in a Torrent Without a Paddle
The title that came through at first was ‘primordial residue‘. However, that led me down the rabbit hole of synchronous events, prods and ticklings to another rather obscure name.
What emerged was a plethora of ancient myth; something about a serpent called Apophis and weighing your soul against a phoenix feather — intrigued? I hope so!
Next week I will break down the emotions that flooded in whilst painting this and just exactly what lead me to uncover the title of this painting, ‘Chaoskampf Demiurge’.
For now, the artwork is available as prints in a variety of different sizes and finishes below:
Chaoskampf Demiurge by Cherie Roe Dirksen 28″ x 36″ x 1.5″ Acrylic and Mixed Media on Boxed Canvas
Let me know what comes through for you when you look at this painting (probably best to do it before I uncover the emotions behind it next week — leave your comments in the box below).
Here are some of Templeton’s videos to whet your appetite for next weeks blog:
Hail to one of the most amazing albums my ears have had the pleasure to experience!
“He is really pushing the boundaries of auditory excellence.”
If you haven’t heard it yet, I strongly suggest you visit Templeton’s site (http://templetonuniverse.com/news.cfm) and have a snoop around, I believe he is offering some FREE MP3 DOWNLOADS over there — all you have to do is become a member (just click on ‘not a member?’ on the top right hand corner of the site to sign up — quick, easy and free).
Infinite Inspiration to Work From
I had so much to draw from whilst designing this album art — from Templeton’s cosmic new sounds to the history and messages behind his music. This was actually easy to do because I had so much to work with. He is really pushing the boundaries of auditory excellence.
Front Cover (above)
This is the third album cover I have done for Templeton and this is his fourth album.
I am pleased to showcase all the artwork for this CD, from inlays to back cover, that was the brainchild of Templeton and myself.
Here it goes:
The Insert
The Inlay
The CD
The Back Cover
If you want to read about the inspiration behind the music and the artwork, Templeton has a blog out that takes you through his whole creative process:
Our (TU) latest album, ‘Between Lies’, has a cover!
