Description

The original "The Joy of Life" was painted about 12 years ago during a difficult time in my life to remind me to focus on what is beautiful and good in the world. After my father died last fall, I felt the desire to repaint this concept with some differences. In the original painting, the woman is a dancer. Now she is also a spiritual being.
For many years I have been an avid student of Celtic and Germanic religion and myths. A repeated theme is the transformation of swans into spiritual beings or goddesses. These spiritual beings can also shape-shift back into swans or other birds. To the ancient Europeans, birds were a conduit to the gods or higher spiritual powers. Birds arriving in the springtime gave rise to the notion that they were also bringers of fertility to the land and the people. The sight of the first birds in springtime would thus have a profound emotional impact on people in ancient times. They would herald the end of the cold weather and the joy of new life. Combine this with religious feelings, and one can understand how birds have been powerful symbols for eons. Living in the cold north, I get a glimpse of the emotions our ancestors felt when I hear the first Robin or see the first Junco of the spring.

For many years I have felt a strong spiritual connection to the experience of birds. The more I have read, the more I have been able to tie my love of birds in with my love of mythology. Now birds make appearances in almost all of my paintings and illustrations. This is the reason I needed to repaint "The Joy of Life."

In my painting, she leaps, embracing life, happiness, and love. She flies with the birds, symbols of ecstasy and spiritual freedom.