Home of Ancestors is a series of oil paintings that express the energies of the four seasons – four directions inspired by a Celtic perspective. These are a few paintings from the spring and east section, 1996. I’m only now realizing how Atlas of the Year evolved from past series that date back to the 1980’s. The paintings had little exposure so I feel compelled to air them out. These photos look a bit blurry because they were digitized from slides. The way we document are has changed a lot.
Golden Door exemplifies spring and east in it’s vivid splendor of yellow. Spring and east is the opening of the year, an invitation to wake up to the sunrise time of day, the new beginnings of life. Eagle is the guardian animal, representing great vision toward the future. The arched doorway is a view of a west area of National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, designed by I M Pei. I continue to paint this image over and over again, from a photograph my mother took.
Golden Door, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″
Golden Door, detail, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″
Golden Door, detail, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″
Golden Door, detail, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″
It really all began with this painting of Pan. In a Naropa class with master painter, Robert Venosa ( 1936-2011) he taught me his method of Fantastic Realism. It is my great honor that I have a memory of him whispering “maestro” behind me as I painted. To have my skill recognized gave me great confidence. It had been some years since I had painted the Cloudscape paintings and I wanted to access a deeper meaning symbolically to my art work. This was a breakthrough for me, It began the quest for the Home of the Ancestors.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Pan”, 20×16″, Oil painting 1995
Ancestor is very special to me. She appeared to me in a vision. She is Fey, Tuatha de Dannan, fairy folk who in Irish lore now reside in the earth. This image unfortunately was cut off at the bottom. What is there is a painting of the entry stone with spirals at the entrance to Newgrange mound. It is an ancient earthwork that predates the pyramids.
Ancestor, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″
Sacred Well, oil painting by Kathleen O’Brien, 20×16″