Today I will be writing about the 6th painting in my “Blood, Ash & Bone” series called “The Bond”! Gosh, it took me forever to name this painting. I knew what the painting was about but it was difficult to find the right title to express it.

“The Bond” is a painting inspired by the spiritual concept of Soul Groups. This may or may not be a concept you are familiar with but I will give you a brief run down. Since I have been exploring connections within this collection, this connection has to do with those you are deeply and karmically connected to.

The purpose behind this, perhaps unnerving, imagery is to show how we affect others within our soul group. Often times we are there to teach each other lessons, for better or for worse, and how that impacts us both.

As you may have figured out by now, I am a spiritual person, just perhaps not in the traditional sense. I do believe in the soul and I do believe we are in many ways eternal … but I also believe in reincarnation and debts we build up with one another can carry on not just in this life but the next.

If you remove the spiritual context to this painting, the imagery still plays out the same. How are we feeding one another? Is it nurturing, loving, sustaining? Or are we, for lack of a better word, poisoning one another?

When we aren’t balanced and we aren’t acting from a place of love (because perhaps we feel unloved ourselves) it is human nature to tear down others so they are on the same low level as ourselves.

I know I have been guilty of this and know others have been guilty of doing it to me.

In the original concept sketch, the facial expressions of the girls were almost switched! Leya, who is on the left, was supposed to look innocent and kind eating the berry whereas Dharma on the right was oh so slightly sinister! Haha, it didn’t turn out this way and I love how a painting transforms almost into how it is meant to be.

I had so much fun with the girls out in the woods that day. Everyone was such a good sport, it was raining, damp, squishy and everyone was covered in blackberry juice. Leya was laughing as we took this photo and it was just perfect. A great moment to capture. Sometimes we really can be fantastic and wonderful creatures. Sometimes we really do inspire love and joy in one another!

It can be so easy to forget, especially in today’s day and age when the negative gets bigger headlines than the positive.

But let’s hold onto that positivity. I’m not saying this is always easy, it is a constant goal for myself. Keeping an open and loving heart in the face of the big bad world is daunting. But it is worth a try, am I right?

This painting will be on view between May 31st – June 6th at the Jula Hotel in Skara. Be sure to come by and check it out! It is one of my personal favorites <3 It is also available for adoption!