I had the thought that I’ve been struggling with old archetypes because I am not putting myself in the right state before working with them. I am deliberately rendering them instead of letting them flow out.
Horsewoman is a potent archtype for me. I decided to experiment with being present with her energy before painting her. I had a couple of reference images – a horse head and a nude photo of an old woman.
I got quiet and entered my sacred creative space – a void with a boardwalk. I asked Horsewoman for her permission to paint her and thought a moment about the different ways she has appeared for me, in my art and in my dreams. Often when I dream of horses they are abandoned in basements, neglected and the feeling of shame and guilt is big. In my art she is often a strong female energy, sometimes inanimate, like a mannikin, other times very sensual. She said to me in this moment of connection that it is me that is afraid of letting her change, age, but that I can paint her changing for as powerful thing, not decay.
