Both Ken Ketchum and I have had many questions asking how we worked on the Dragon together. Did we each start at one end and meet in the middle ? :)
No...but that might have been really neat too.
So I thought I would put together some of the photos we took as the Dragon progressed into this world. Enjoy!
This Dragon has rather a strong personality to say the least. The more he came into being, the chattier ( bossier) he got. It was a collaboration piece between artist Ken Ketchum and myself, but the Dragon really directed the whole thing, "Paint this red, paint me blue, I want gold leaf". Yeash! But yes, he is rather splendid with his full eight feet stretched across the wall (and he knows it!).
"Enter The Dragon" by Heidi Van Impe and Ken Ketchum
This painting found a good home via a fund-raising event for a middle school here on the island. They were raising funds for an afterschool arts program for the kids. Gotta love that.!
"Tranquility"
The honeybee works for the benefit and well-being for all, ensuring that her actions in her short life-time create a healthy and secure future for generations to follow.
This natural and simplistic goodness for a holistic wellbeing of self and others taps into the deep threads of life where all beings are as one, on hive, one harmonious entity. In the image we can see the golden threads of the Earth mapped against the background of space and time; our universal energetic resonance.
Sometimes my paintings whisper to me, calling me over... "We are not done yet", they sometimes tell me.
And so I must hold my breath and take the plunge, trusting that what will come will be even better than before, and that I can indeed do what is asked.
is the gift of working with the heart.
Of becoming more than who we think we are and becoming deeper.
Such a little bird with the biggest teaching.
And always flying, such a liberation of spirit.
If that isn't worth waking up for in the morning, then I don't know what is.
Gazing at birds in flight is always a good reminder to let your spirit soar. Watching ravens dip and wheel off the edge of a cliff face is time well spent in reviving the soul. The sunlight gleams off their superb feathers and they shine like obsidian shards in the blue sky.
High above, so very high above, on the edges of seeing are two eagles. Their large wingspan at one with the air, they turn overlapping circles and ovals. And suddenly, they have passed from sight. The business of eagles, at such lofty hights, one can only imagine. It raises questions, questions that explore the vast expanse of blue within ourselves, why do we soar so very high?
It was nice to have one of my big paintings up in a bigger space than the wall of my studio.Standing half-way up Mt. Erskine, the first thing that came to mind was the incredible sweet smell in the dark air. Long grasses, Douglas Firs and Cedars, all mixed in the warm air. Then, as our eyes adjusted to the dark, more and more stars appeared until the Milky Way was so dense above us, we could see the shadows left amongst the stars. I had not noticed these before until a Peruvian friend pointed out the negative shapes. In the Andean heritage, the shadow shapes were as important as the starry shapes. These shadows, the Andeans call "The Llama, the Fox, The Toad and Snake."
We were up on the mountain to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis and we were not disappointed. Although it was a 'diffuse aurora' and not a 'discrete aurora' with all its wave-like curtain formations, it was still a stunning sight.
Over the orange glow of the city, a faint band of green could be seen. It grew stonger as time passed.
Off to the north-west, out of the glow of the warm city lights of Vancouver, a more ghostly green illumination backdropped the fir trees.
