Prior to completing Wild Horses, at the beginning of the year I had a strong urge to start another piece. At the time, I currently had two pieces already in process, Wild Horses and a quilled wolf, and I hesitated to start yet another but the voice and vision in my head was too strong to ignore. And so I present…

This piece is very special, not only in sheer determination it had to be created but what it represents as well.

When I first opened my studio back in the summer of 2017, I had a very powerful vision of a piece featuring an elephant. I saw everything in my mind’s eye, the colors, the shapes, everything and as I moved forward with the studio, the vision also took greater shape and lead to the creation of one of my all time favorite pieces.

This was my very first large canvas. Like Wild Horses, I painted it on a 60″ x 48″ canvas and so powerful was my initial inspiration that as I painted this piece it felt as though I was merely a conduit for its creation. After a lot of meditation, study, and discussion I came to the belief that the painting was a representation of the Hindu God Ganesha and that he and I were very much in connection while this piece was being created.

In the Hindu belief system, Ganesha is the Destroyer of Obstacles, as well as a patron of arts and sciences, and it was during the creation process that Ganesha became a very powerful and important muse for me.

When it came to creating my latest elephant piece, once again Ganesha’s voice spoke to me quite loudly demanding to be given life through my art. As with The Elephant in the Room, I was simply a conduit to creation. The piece had a life of its own that demanded to come forward. During our all too brief time working together, I’ve started to realise that I listen too much to outside voices and inputs. Looking at my art in terms of what other people would like and what would potentially sell rather than my inner voice and inspiration. In thinking outside of myself, I was giving others too much power and influence over my work and as a result creating obstacles between me and my goals.

When Ganesha speaks to me, I find that it’s wise to shut up and listen. When I started my studio he was there to help breakdown the obstacles that were in my path, and as 2019 gets rolling, he was there again to help guide me.