Elephant Moon

To give you an understanding of my moon phase paintings, I have to tell you about my experience to start the year of 2010.  My chin, neck, shoulders, upper chest and arms broke out into a rash and were highly inflamed.  The cause was directly unknown and only attributed to stress & fatigue.  I experienced this again 3 and 6 months later and found out through a Naturapath that I was dangerously deficient in vitamin D.  This caused my immune system to be overworked and prone to allergies which cause the rash and inflammation.  This experience was not fun for me, yet taught me many lessons.

During my time with this discomfort, I retreated to art and images of elephants and ravens flooded my imagination.  One in particular, the elephant above was a dominating presence and I found myself staring into his eyes reflecting on my life.  I meditated frequently attempting to understand and to find comfort in the pain.   What message was I to hear?  Three ravens fly around the elephant’s ear conveying their messages of life, of memories and of lessons.  Originally I painted this without the moon and left it knowing that something was missing.  I looked at the painting recently and realized that a new moon was calling.  New moons are the beginning of the moon phases on its journey to fullness.  The new moon signifies for me “rebirth,” the start of a new journey.

I hope you enjoy this painting.