“Lotus” series
Linda PicosClark

The lotus flower is viewed as a symbol of spiritual unfoldment. With the lotus roots in earthly mud, it grows upward in aspiration toward the light, petals opening out in a beautiful flower. At night the flower closes and sinks underwater, only to rise again at dawn through the mire. The Lotus is the symbol of the sun, creation and rebirth.

If there ever was a dichotomous element it would be Fire.  Fire is the bringer of destruction, chaos and war.  Symbolically it is recognized as a purifier, a destroyer and as the generative power of life, from the ashes of its destruction new life, new hopes. It represents illumination and enlightenment, destruction and renewal, spirituality and damnation, passion and love.

The approach to my work is intuitive and process driven. It evolves slowly, growing from a simple geometric drawing directly sketched on the canvas to divide the surface. Colors are applied overall, the geometric planes color-coded in my mind. The process is then to integrate, harmonize, balance and sometimes create a vibrant experience from the once fragmented canvas. It is very much a direct communication of who I am. I’m not so different from the modernist who sought to destroy images from their repertoire.

Trying to reach the essence of the thing, this thing called self, a culmination of feelings, personal defects and celebrations. And so if the viewer knows not what he sees, he sees me.

The “Lotus Fire” series initially evolved without any reference to a lotus, or fire. My intentions were originally non-objective but consistently the appearance of the lotus flower made its appearance. The process of the paintings is really very much like the lotus. A lotus grows from the ooze of the primordial mud aspiring towards the light, unfolding into a beautiful flower; the paintings grow from the depth of self to be released into the light. It is not until the latter works that the form of the lotus started becoming more prevalent as the subject. I added " fire" to the name to describe the vibrancy and description of the paint. The series originally was about color, vibrancy and growth from the initial gesture of the brush. Though the materials tend to influence my color usage, it is my Latin background that I give the most credit, bright yellows reds and blues, maximized to create contrast, and vibrancy. My painting is about letting the materials do their own thing, the drips and smears, one line leading to another, one drip bleeding, mixing, destroying and creating; each painting evolving on its own terms, speaking with it’s own voice.