Advent 2

Families love to pass on stories about something unusual happening at the time of a child's birth,
and I can just imagine the story about the birth of John the Baptist being repeated by all the relatives, especially once he became well known as the

"Voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord..."   ( Luke 3 v 4 ) 

and people all flocked to this man who was not afraid to speak his mind.

 Zecharia's Vision : Alexandr Ivanov

Right at the beginning of  Luke's Gospel we are introduced to his parents, Elizabeth & Zechariah, a childless couple, who have hoped & prayed for children... & now Zechariah believes they are too old.

I searched the internet & found this painting which seems to express the shimmering awe & wonder of Angel Gabriel, together with the fear & disbelief of Zechariah who is struck dumb...

...but I have found no painting which portrays Zechariah's 'nightmare' of having to face the congregation awaiting him in the Temple, knowing that he cannot say a word... and yet the crowd are very understanding.

Mary's story is then closely woven into this narrative, like warp & weft together, as the same Angel  Gabriel visits Mary when Elizabeth is in her sixth month of pregnancy...

• to reflect further... see Trevor Dennis : The Christmas Stories [SPCK ]                                p.67 : An Angel, a priest, and a woman who loses her 'disgrace'

for Advent Sunday

Dalit Madonna by Jyoti Sahi

Methodist Collection of Modern Christian Art

click link below for details:

http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/artcollection/image37.htm

Advent Sunday...the beginning of a new year,

& this year we turn to the Gospel of Luke ...

 Matthew tells the nativity story from the point of view of Joseph

Luke gives us Mary 

·         Luke is the only one who tells us about the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary,  of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth....& the whole story of Zechariah, Elizabeth & the birth of John the Baptist

             Luke alone writes about the shepherds  the outcasts visiting the manger...and this seems so pertinent these days, with all kinds of poor and vulnerable people suffering through the cuts in UK; people in the poorest areas of the world already suffering the effects of climate change, not to mention the way refugees are now stuck in various bottlenecks across Europe...

              this painting seemed very appropriate for this first week of Advent...  

·

"Father Forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." St Luke 23 v 33

In the light of recent events in Paris I realise that, sadly, I could continue to paint a whole series like this painting, with a changing range of events throughout the world surrounding the cross...

...but maybe you will notice at least one sign of hope given in this painting ? 

I also noted the significant signs of hope & solidarity given by people in Paris, after the traumatic attacks on ordinary people...

• ...those who offered hospitality to random survivors needing somewhere to stay overnight...
• ...the young man who brought out his piano, played some of Lennon's peace music...
• ...all those who just turned up at the hospital to donate blood for the wounded...
• ...and, of course the array of flowers, candles & prayers...

 & crowds gathering for a vigil in Trafalgar Square, even in the pouring rain 

• February 2016 : Ive just found this website on Forgiveness:  click link below ...

http://theforgivenessproject.com/stories/desmond-tutu-south-africa/

Wivenhoe Library Exhibition : Sunsets and...

Visit Wivenhoe Library & enjoy some of my paintings...

Creative Spiral: children can enjoy looking for all sorts things hidden in this spiral painting

& not always noticed unless you stop & look

I painted several sunsets, seen across the Colne at Brightlingsea where the brilliant effect of sunlight shining through the mist on the distant shore and across the water is really quite amazing.

 I remember as a teenager swimming here one evening with a group of us who had been playing tennis, and we could hardly believe the intensity of gold flooding the sea all around us as we bobbed & floated along.

Dawn Mist Rising          oil on canvas, Janet Driver

I continue to be intrigued by dawn mist & the "lost & found" nature of things hidden or revealed through the mist. Can you guess the river marshes this was based on ? 

Hanging next to it you will find a painting of  this scene at sunset. Again a surprising sunset where the light lit up the wall hidden by the dawn mist with a brilliant reflection almost like gold.

for Library Opening Times click the link below:

http://webapps1.essexcc.gov.uk/findalibrary/libdetail.asp?LibID=78

Chagall's White Crucifixion Revisited...continued

Chagall's White Crucifixion

the Art Institute of Chicago website gives a brief background to Chagall's painting:  http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/59426

From my previous post you will see that I have attempted a contemporary version of Chagall’s work, highlighting some examples of how, 75 years later, violent persecution continues to force people to flee.

Chagall in his White Crucifixion identified the crucified Christ with the sufferings of Jews at the beginning of World War II.

I have followed a similar format, painting Christ wearing jeans instead of a Jewish prayer-shawl to identify him with fleeing refugees.

Chagall’s  Menorah at the foot of the cross has been replaced with prayer nightlights,

 but the symbolism of only 6 living flames, has been kept...and I have painted the seventh light as snuffed out / blown out...

If I had taken too long to think & plan, I would probably been stopped in my tracks: there was no way I was going to emulate Chagall's style !  Fortunately that didn't even occur to me until now, when I look back on the painting process.

I decided to use the format of the Crucifixion right in the centre, rooted in the events swirling around ... so I began there,  using a thin glaze of indigo, choosing this cool, dark colour to bring out the tragedy & sorrow of all the scenes of violence...but I also wanted to include the stream of light, giving a sign of hope in this darkness.

In fact there have been many signs of hope in the news...especially of people going out of their way to help, often at great risk to their own lives... 

So I have decided to offer this painting for sale during the Firstsite Exhibition as small way of raising funds for Medicans sans Frontiers                           Doctors Without Borders

where many doctors volunteer to go during their holidays to be sent with a medical team wherever they are needed...

  http://www.msf.org.uk/

Since completing this painting I feel I should now do a sequel...showing how events have moved on with so many thousands of refugees, including many young families, pouring through Europe... but then Chagall has already done something similar in his later crucifixion:

Addendum: Oct 9th 2015:

This morning one or two people were asking me about my painting, having seen it in the Exhibition at Firstsite ... and so I looked again for references to Chagall's White Crucifixion and discovered an article by Bryan Owen, who spent time reflecting in front of the painting with a Jewish friend  (click on link below ) He gives far more detail on the Jewish symbolism...and also points out parallels in modern society. It was written a few years ago, in 2007, but still contains food for thought and questioning that links in with my own painting...

 http://www.bryanowen.com/9701/32901.html

Chagall White Crucifixion Revisited: "Father Forgive "

How did I ever come to paint this ? ...so different from anything I have painted recently...

When I  heard about the Firstsite Open Exhibition    http://www.firstsite.uk.net/    
I thought "Oh yes...I have several paintings ready to go into my October solo exhibition: I could easily chose from one of those..."

But then I read through the Guidelines and thought again...
Yes, I could easily put in one of my recent sunsets or...   

BUT the exhibition organisers  were clearly hoping for a few paintings that might get people talking and interacting with the exhibition...Mmmm... could I possibly rise to the challenge ?

• ...first idea:  "Climate Change...thats the biggest issue at the moment, with the important talks coming up in December..."   

... but somehow all I could think about was this poster advertising "Baked Alaska" the touring Climate-Change play:    http://ridinglights.org/baked-alaska/   

 or my window in Climate Change  http://janetdriver.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Climate%20change   

amazing how  "been there, done that " blocked my thinking...plus the fact there was hardly time to produce an  oil painting that would be dry before the handing in dates...

...I left it... got on with life...turned my back on the whole idea...

...went for a walk by the sea...

• ... walking along by the sea at Brightlingsea, watching the small ferry full of people as it fought the current, going so slowly against the incoming tide, making its way towards Mersea... 

...can you see the visual link already?....

....a flashback to news pictures of refugees in overcrowded small boats, some floundering & overturning... others pouring into Greek islands...

"how would we react if they were landing here...?"

By the time I reached home my mind's eye had raced on, remembering Chagall's White Crucifixion.

Hadn't he painted a whole series of incidents about early holocaust victims all around the Crucified Christ ?  

Chagall: White Crucifixion

 ...and suddenly I could see the link:  70 / 75 years on ...unimaginable horror & violence escalating once more around the world

...images poured into my mind, tumbling after one another... I knew what I had to paint...

...could I actually complete it in time ?  

 Well, maybe...if I didn't spend too long planning it...if I could let go and follow my intuitions... 


                                                                                                                    ...to be continued....



added January 2016:   Just read this article about the Lampedusa Cross & the carpenter who decided to make small crosses out of migrant boats which broke apart whilst carrying migrants...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35360682

Sunflowers & Sunsets, Creative Art & Croquet

http://leeabbey.org.uk/devon/

arriving at Lee Abbey

after a long day of travelling

...a really warm welcome, followed by a glowing sunset...

                                  and sunflowers on every table in the art room

joyful colour ... "joy in the journey" ...

beginning with Matisse :

Matisse: The Sheaf

& wonderful coloured paper to cut out our own designs

many delightful surprises

like the enameling workshop 

and even a game of croquet 

with an international flavour

and  winner from Uganda

delicious food 

 a delightful international evening

an opportunity to learn lino-cutting

joyful colour

& sunflowers, yet again...

opening up to quiet beauty

and joy

deep within

http://leeabbey.org.uk/devon/