Dave's Favourites

EYES OPEN

In this part of my blog I'll be sharing some of my favourite pieces from my collection.

Documenting the creative journey.

My first entry has to be "Eyes Open."

Four years ago, I was sitting in my living room, staring at a blank canvas.

What could I paint for my mum?

She would expect something special for Christmas. She used to say, "Don't bother getting me anything."

No one would make the mistake of taking that statement literally.

I believed a painting would be ideal! I could craft something for her just as she crafted me.

This was the first peace of work that I had made with someone else in mind.

I wanted to illustrate coming into existence as a form of appreciation.

Since the eye is often seen as the window to the soul, I felt it would symbolise what I wanted to express to the woman who brought me into existence.

My mom was very spiritual, she believed there was another world all around us, right in front of us, but we could not perceive it.

I attempted to express this by depicting an eye gazing at the audience, concentrating on an external reality. The universe teeming with life symbolizes growth, accompanied by a bird bearing the weight of the world on its back as it moves along.

The bird represents my mother and the eye represents me.

I wanted this painting to say "I see you" every time she looked at it.

She enjoyed the painting up until the day she passed. Now it hangs in the family home.

I will never sell the original because it still belongs to my mom in this life and the next. But, she wouldn't mind if prints were available! Hehe!