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2.2.9  King of the Jungle

This art work was a 3 dimensional rectangle kite 1m 70cm in length and 70cm in width. The frontside was painted with feathers. From an experience I had in nature, I saw a mother swan with her three children, I took a photo and transferred the picture to the canvas in a different setting. The mother swan was done with a yellow paint as the outline and the body was left transparent I painted a red beak and brown feet. The children were done in brown outline and also thickened the line on there back. I then drew sun rays of color with the backside of a feather dipped in paint in yellow, orange, light and dark blue. This surrounded the swans almost like a nest. When looking at the piece from a far the piece turns into the king of the jungle, a lions face that looks at you.
Pic 2.40: "King of the Jungle"

In this piece when up close you can see swans surrounded by a kind of nest, very protective and tender. When looking from a far you see the opposite, the lion, suddenly the picture becomes abstract. Its a very pragmatic and figurative piece. It shows the essence of my work, the key. It shows the different ways we look at paintings the way we perceive them, a play on vision. On the other side of this work I decided to create a journey of memories out of different elements that would come together and symbolize a celebration of life. Life is a puzzle with many different pieces, art is the glue that binds the pieces together and expresses the joy and wisdom. For me Matisse showed in his work how far the freedom of abstract art can bring you and how close it actually is to everyone, everyday,everywhere.

The backside of the kite started with two dancing tangram figures created in gold yellow and dark blue fabric. They were images I had form my wedding card. I then painted the image of the tree of life in blue green and yellow inspired by Matisse built in the chapel of Vence. The green tree is on the left bottom hand side and next to that is the yellow one. The blue tree is found in the middle of the piece. All the trees are outlined in gold. At the top of the piece is a shape created out of playing with light, a shadow. It has a cloud like form with holes in it which are colored yellow. At the bottom the floor is made up of different shapes, triangles, square and other objects. The colors are in yellow green blue and orange, almost looking like a puzzle. After I used shells and seeds that I found on my journey in Como and sewed them onto the kite over the painting, They are brown and white in color and are formed in a triangle. The tail of the kite was made out of blue and gold material cut into thin strands 80cm long. Playing with the kite is playing with the elements and gives the ultimate freedom.
Pic 2.41: "King of the Jungle 2"

The Picture Measures - 1m by 90cm. The Tail is 80cm

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