The Heavens

Part of the Myths & Legends prints series

I find origin stories and concepts of archaic pasts fascinating as they resonate strongly with something very deep in the human psyche. Through telling and time these stories become Myths and Legends, which seem to merge our need to understand the universe and all its phenomena with our sense of magical connection to it. I have often explored these themes in my paintings and have selected four works, which I feel most directly communicate these ideas, for this print series.

The Heavens is my most ambitious painting to date, an elaborate and fantastical still life painting that aimed to explore humankind’s eternal and endless fascination with the Cosmos. The sky, the stars, the planets have always held the ultimate mystery for us; even today, in our zenith of scientific knowledge, we look to them for answers as to who we are and where we came from. These celestial bodies and constellations have found shape in the human imagination as beautiful heroic gods and incredible monsters, imbued with attributes that correlate with their perceived physical qualities and seasonal movements across the night sky. This work was my attempt to synthesise various depictions of these celestial divinities, drawing from the Greek and Roman roots of western mythology.