Rebirth (2020)

Watercolour & Pen – 500 x 700mm

‘Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.’

Desiderata – Max Ehrmann

Death is inevitable but it is not the end, for each action, great or small, has an impact which ripples in the world for eternity; it will never again be the same. Death is but another transformation, one as old and inexorable as life itself. Where the body and mind fade and separate from one another, new life emerges, springing from the ashes of the old. Each and every part is reformed and reused in a constant cycle of death and rebirth.

This piece began and was heavily influenced by the spring season, in which the experience of regeneration and renewal is most apparent. The Green Man awakens from long slumber and begins his eternal march once again; bluebells blaze into life, carpeting the ground in greens and purpley-blues; lambs and bunnies dance energetically in the fields. The morning light peaks over the crest of the hills and bathes the world in warm light as spirits, flanked by their ancestors, step forward to into the world again, reborn into yet another form. The endless cycle of transformation beings anew.

It is dedicated to my grandmothers, each of whom played a massive part in making me the person I am today.