Print of original painting: Printed at High Desert Art in Santa Fe, NM on high quality fine art paper.

Dimensions of print: 16” x 13”

Dimensions of image: 14” x 11”

All prints are signed by the artist unless requested otherwise.

Original painting: 2016. Indian ink, blackberry ink and rain water on cotton fabric.

78”x49”

In private collection in North Carolina

This painting was created as part of a series of self-portrait paintings. I created them during my schooling at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. All of the other six paintings in this series are painted using primarily blackberry ink. This is the last in the series and during the course of painting it, I ran out of blackberry ink as well as blackberries. One might wonder why I didn’t just go to the store and buy some more. I choose to and love using only what I can forage from the landscape. Something about this deeply moves me. Earth is present in all my paintings. I ask her first for permission before I take anything from her. As it was the end of the school year, it was also the end of blackberry season in Ireland. I scoured the landscape for the very last tiny shriveled berries, but even I had to finally admit that Earth had changed into her spring wardrobe. I finished this painting with Indian ink, which served me quite well. As a result, it is the only painting in this series that is black instead of pink and so received the title, “Darkness”. After I finished this series of paintings, I stood back and looked at all of them as a group and it occurred to me that they were collectively a self-portrait of my inner self. Darkness is present as well as light and everything in-between. It always amazes me that when we create from our heart, we receive a message we didn’t necessarily expect to receive. It is a message that came through us into our consciousness rather than something we tried to conjure up all on our own. This is a great gift.

Remember that all things which happen

To you are raw materials

Endlessly fertile

Endlessly yielding of thoughts that could change

Your life and go on doing forever …

So fear not, my friend.

The darkness is gentler than you think.

Ben Okri