Decoding Muse (Rock Art Painting no. 7) — ‘Resurrection’

Resurrection - Muse by Cherie Roe Dirksen lrLast week I had my grand reveal of painting no. 7 — a pictorial process that you can view here: The Resurrection of Muse — Rock Art Painting no. 7 Photographs — in this most tantalizing Rock Art Series (painting to my favourite rock musicians of all time!).

What’s This All About Again?

A quick recap about what this Rock Art Series is:  I approach the canvas with no expectation of what’s about to come out.  I paint subliminally to their music and experience a plethora of emotions and feelings related to the songs and possibly the quantum message behind the music/inspiration itself.

So what did I extract from the melodiously cosmic frequencies, vibrations and croonings of Muse? Before I get into that…let me whet your appetite with some of my favourite Muse songs performed live:

The Resurrection of Greatness

As I paint, certain words just pop into my head.  I scribble them down on the side of the canvas.  Here were the words that came up whilst painting this:

  • Form Structure/Restructure
  • Power/Control
  • Penance/Redemption
  • Longing/Sorrow
  • Warrior
  • Bondage/Bonded
  • Grace/Beauty
  • Remorse/Regret
  • Searching
  • Lost
  • Love

It’s quite a list!  But then Muse have quite a lot of albums/songs/issues they address — so no real surprise there!

Dissecting the Painting — Piece by Piece

Muse 1The top left half of the painting (as seen in the pic above) was just weird.  There’s a blue insectoidal bird type-thingy (life on other planets? Panspermia perhaps?).

The background definitely felt like ‘space’ or the cosmos and I think the silver splodges of foil may have represented some kind of space-craft(s).  I even marked a couple of them with the letters ‘io’ — does it mean anything?  Maybe time will tell.

The green alien head was a metamorphic process.  At first it was just a kind of lense flare, then I started adding a light green nebula formation and when I stepped back there was a face!  It morphed out of thin air. Muse 2 The middle of the painting (as seen above) has clay figures emerging from a pool of blood and earth.

What looks like an alien egg with a green pregnant lady and another greenish lady’s profile.  Oh lord!

There is also a skeleton alongside the biggest clay figure.  I couldn’t help but think ‘clones’ when I was painting this.  And as I said in the previous blog, I had no idea back then that Muse’s new album was titled ‘Drones’.

Could this section represent exogenesis (a beautiful 3 part symphony off ‘The Resistance’ album, meaning ‘outside origins’ or ‘origin from external causes’ — you can LISTEN TO THE SYMPHONY HERE)?  Is it the missing link?  Anyone who’s read Zecharia Sitchin will be smiling and nodding at this point.  Hmmmm….

Muse 3There is a very unusual scene happening in the bottom left-hand corner (picture on your right).

This revelation was quite something.

The fish is swimming upstream in water with what seems to be some kind of egg spawn or roe floating about.

There is a specter/ghoul/ghost/dementor type-creature emerging from the water (I can’t say I got a good feeling about this character — it seemed to be a kind of energy drainer/something to be avoided at all costs type-entity).

Then there is this beautiful woman leaning up against the buildings.  She was a complete surprise.

One night, after a painting session, I took my brush (with black paint on it) and wiped it across the canvas in an attempt to clean it.  When I came back to the painting the next morning, I saw her profile and arms behind her neck and just proceeding to bring the rest of her out of obscurity.

She reminds me a bit of the woman from the movie Avatar — she also looks a bit like a warrior. She is also slightly reptilian, having a fan of ‘scales’ running up her back and head — this could also be indicative of the kundalini energy.

I feel that she also represents balance — she has all the chakra points painted on the outside of her body.  She gives me a feeling of temperance or self-control/self-regulation.

Muse 4Then there is the mid to bottom right-hand corner (as seen in the picture to your left) where we have earth merging into metal (or perhaps the telluric/elemental realm) that drips and gives way to the material world represented by skyscrapers — our ultimate disconnection from our origins/nature/earth.

The silver paint is dripping on the face of a man (profile) who looks like he is a bit of a lost soul.  Perhaps indicative of the hollow disconnection we feel in the world of steel, concrete and enslavement to the system?

In Conclusion…

This painting is like a cosmic full-circle of exo-origins mingled with earthly origins coinciding with the elements of ether, water and earth to conclude in soul versus material realm.

Shew!  I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted…lol.  It’s a busy work of art!

The albums I listened to whilst painting this were:

  • Showbiz
  • Origins of Symmetry
  • Black Holes and Revelations
  • Absolution
  • The Resistance
  • 2nd Law

The next Rock Art painting is going to be Rufus Wainwright (read more about him here). So don’t forget to ‘follow this blog’ or subscribe (see left-hand sidebar column).

  • What do you get out of this painting?
  • Did my explanations resonate with you?
  • Do you have something to add or embellish on?
  • Are you a Muse fan?

I’d love to hear from you!Tote Bag

Don’t forget that you can order prints, posters and paraphernalia of this painting by clicking on any of the pictures above or HERE.

iPhone Case/SkinThere is a menu of items (if you scroll down to the bottom of the page) with cool bags, iPhone cases, cushions and lots more to sink your teeth into!

Other articles you may enjoy:

10 Bands, 10 Paintings…Let the Rock Art Begin!

The Grand Band Reveal is Today!

Radiohead — A Teaser Pictorial ‘Rock Art’ Peek

What Radiohead Looks Like Through The End of My Brush

Song Playlist — Radiohead Albums That Made The Art

Rock Art Series — The Beatles

What The Beatles Look Like From the End of my Paintbrush

Rock Art Series Painting no. 3 — Jeff Buckley ‘Raw’

How I Got ‘Raw’ With Jeff Buckley

‘Dancing in the Void’ — Pink Floyd Rock Art Painting No.4 Photographs

Painting Pink Floyd — Soldiering Through the Minefield of Emotion ‘Dangerous Love’ — Skunk Anansie Rock Art Painting No. 5

Rock Art Painting no. 6 — Templeton: The Photographic Process and Grand Reveal!

What on Earth is a ‘Chaoskampf Demiurge’? You Seriously Need to Know This! subscribe button

Rock Art Painting no. 6 — Templeton: The Photographic Process and Grand Reveal!

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! 🙂

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6 Photo 7 Photo 8 Photo 9

Photo 10

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’.  

UPDATE:  Read “What on Earth is a ‘Chaoskampf Demiurge’? You Seriously Need to Know This!” right now!

For now, the artwork is available as prints in a variety of different sizes and finishes below:

Chaoskampf Demiurge by Cherie Roe Dirksen

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:

Here are the Rock Art blogs in order of release:

10 Bands, 10 Paintings…Let the Rock Art Begin!

The Grand Band Reveal is Today!

Radiohead — A Teaser Pictorial ‘Rock Art’ Peek

What Radiohead Looks Like Through The End of My Brush

Song Playlist — Radiohead Albums That Made The Art

Rock Art Series — The Beatles

What The Beatles Look Like From the End of my Paintbrush

Rock Art Series Painting no. 3 — Jeff Buckley ‘Raw’

How I Got ‘Raw’ With Jeff Buckley

‘Dancing in the Void’ — Pink Floyd Rock Art Painting No.4 Photographs

Painting Pink Floyd — Soldiering Through the Minefield of Emotion

‘Dangerous Love’ — Skunk Anansie Rock Art Painting No. 5

Can Music Jump-Start Humanity’s Awakening?

A Sneak Pictorial Peek at Painting no. 6 in the Rock Art Series

‘Dangerous Love’ — Skunk Anansie Rock Art Painting No. 5

You can recap on the whole Rock Art Series HERE — a page dedicated to the process of bringing this musical art collection to life.

Bloody Hell!

Whoa.  This painting was a difficult one to physically manifest.  Just when I thought that the Pink Floyd Rock Art painting had done my nerves in, this one came to slam dunk me in a vat of excrement!

Not only did this piece take me close onto 3 months to complete but I felt like I was resisting finishing it right up until the last moment.  In hindsight, I think I know why…

First Things First

Before I get into the personal details of my past-life drama karma (yes, you read right, this painting started ripping into my own akashic records — how riveting!), I want to go through the emotions that came up for me whilst painting this and, of course, reveal the painting itself.

*Drum Roll* — here is the painting and below you’ll find the list of emotions.

Dangerous Love - Skunk Anansie lo res

You can click on the picture above to enlarge.  Click here to buy the print.

List of Emotions:

  • Anger
  • Hurt
  • Resentment
  • Female Pain-Body
  • Discordant
  • Regret
  • Sorrow
  • Broken
  • Blood, Shit and Umska

Phew! Now you might start to get a clearer picture of why I struggled through this process.

Feeling the Music

Firstly, I have to say that I absolutely love and admire the sexy and sassy Skin (lead singer of Skunk Anansie) and the entire band — bloody (no pun intended) brilliant music!

I’m going to scatter a few YouTube videos in this blog.  So — if you aren’t familiar with this Brit band — you can get with the programme.

Skin has an awesome voice and an enormous stage presence.  I was lucky enough to see them when they were in Cape Town — well over a decade ago now.

However, this Rock Art Series is diving deeper than audio enjoyment, humming a happy tune or head-banging.  This series is pushing past aesthetics and striking at the core — the emotions/energy behind the music (as interpreted by me).

Self-Love or Bust

close upSo, the strong emotions/feelings that I was picking up on was a dangerous kind of love, or should I say, a conditional love.  A love that is incomplete and destructive because it’s missing one fundamental principle — self-love and respect.

Possessive relationships are doomed.  You enter into them incomplete and want the other person to fill the void inside you that can only be filled by, you guessed it, YOU.

Instead of looking within to find the answers, we look without and turn on the one we love with a deepening resentment, sorrow and a pain that can’t be quenched.

Long and short is:  You can’t truly love anyone else unconditionally if you can’t totally and fully accept and love your self (self love is not to be mistaken for ego-based love or narcissism).

My Part in This Epic Blood-Stained Musical Dramatization

The anger and frustrations that came up for me were almost unbearable.

I have a current marriage made in heaven (yeah, I know — lucky me.  You can read all about it HERE) but with the deep retrospection I had to undergo, I realized that I had to face a past relationship.

Such a far flung past coupling that it comes from a different lifetime altogether.

It was difficult to go through this in the ‘dark’ (i.e. not quite knowing the in’s and out’s and just going on gut instinct) but I had dreams that helped me along and let me pick through the metaphors of literally having shit dumped on my head by this phantom past partner.

In another dream I also displayed signs of stigmata and bleeding from every orifice while he looked at me and said, ‘Go clean yourself up!’.  The most bizarre thing is that he was being cut and I was bleeding which I found to be quite a remarkable analogy.


Above — ‘Brazen (weep)’, Skunk Anansie 

Ripley’s Believe It or Not

When I was compiling the video’s for this blog, I realized that it was the first time I had ever seen a Skunk Anansie music video.  I have only seen them live and on live performance DVD’s. So, it goes without saying, that I was quite shocked to see that the above and below video were very in sync with the painting style, theme and colours.  See for yourself…

  Above — ‘Charlie Big Potato’, Skunk Anansie

The Phantom Menace Was Me

close up 2Who was this past-life persona?

It doesn’t really matter.  The details are mere semantics, what was more important was my understanding of what was being brought up in myself.  The ‘people-pleaser’/’don’t rock the boat‘/‘take it up the ass‘ person in me just had to go.

What I got from my ‘past life’ scenario was a sense of being out of control in the relationship but not being strong enough to leave.

I felt oppressed, spoken down to, controlled, literally ‘shut up’ (emotionally and verbally — which is why I think there are bolts in the painting — keeping ‘her’ in place; tape over her mouth and eyes — keeping her gagged in silent pain) and made to feel deep guilt whenever I did pluck up the courage to have my say.

Although, all she/I had to do was step into her/my power and say, ‘No more’ and walk away.  She/I displayed signs of being weak (and, yes, Skunk Anansie do have a song called ‘Weak’...LISTEN/VIEW HERE) and not loving and respecting herself enough to walk away.

This all boils down to self-inflicted trauma.  The inability to stand in ones power and to have enough self-love to pick up and leave a rotten situation.  This is a dangerous love — fear disguised in the wrappings of ‘love’.

The Mysterious Identity of the Unknowable Known

Other things I noticed at the end of this process was that the ‘face’ had smeared lipstick, undeterminable eyes, skin colour or race — she could be anyone from anywhere.  She could even be a man (well, maybe one in drag or from a pantomime?).

Another interesting fact is that I picked up the colour purple right at the end and dabbed some of it onto the eyelids, face and a few streaks at the bottom.  Could this be a form of mitigation?

Purple is usually connotated with good judgment and spiritual fulfillment.

I Open at the End

Well, Skunk Ananse, thanks for opening a wound that needed to be scraped clean.

Even though I’m still in the process of releasing and realigning to this new found truth, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to actually live through one of my paintings and seek out a deeper personal truth to this collection.

Below are photographs of the painting process:

SK 1 SK 2 SK 3 SK 4 SK 5

SK 06

‘A Dangerous Love’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen
28″ x 22″ x 1.5″
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Boxed Canvas
Click on the picture to take you to the print store.

Other articles you may find interesting:

How I Got ‘Raw’ With Jeff Buckley

What The Beatles Look Like From the End of my Paintbrush

Radiohead — A Teaser Pictorial ‘Rock Art’ Peek

10 Bands, 10 Paintings…Let the Rock Art Begin!

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