Noodlybark Paintings

I paint really slowly!  For me, it’s a difficult process that doesn’t come naturally, and seems to take great effort, like climbing a mountain, then finding I’ve only reached the first peak and there’s a whole other section to climb after that to reach the pinnacle.  From the moment an idea enters my mind, to the final stroke of the brush, months and often years have intervened, and so much life has gone on, that by the end, the painting has become a kind of monument to all the rocks I’ve hauled myself over in the seasons gone by.  The painting is the mountain. 

The relationship between the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and all the space between, is a great fascination.  These are the powers and forces that I can hope to understand, not only through what scientists have discovered so far, but also on a deeper level too – the heat in my body is the fire of the sun; the water in my body moves with the moon; the solidity of my body is sculpted by the earth; the breath in my body connects me with the universe as a whole; and even when the world inside seems overwhelmingly dark, there are still tiny pinpoints of light for company.  

I believe we humans have a deep purpose.  We are here to witness with all our senses the majesty of the universe’s ability to evolve – our ability to evolve, on the inside - we are each a part of the universe, evolved into bodies made from earth, to see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel and be moved by the beauty of this planet.  And we have hands! And feet!  And voices!  And language!  We can sing and dance, write and create works of art, and we can share with each other, and be moved by what someone else offers.  We can observe the animals and plants, and marvel at how they go about their lives.  We can look up into the night sky and wonder if there are other beings out there doing the same thing, maybe even doing it better – we can listen with our inner being, and hope to hear an answer to the questions we yearn to ask. 

Leanne Murphy, 2010

 

Soul Flower

Tango

Elemental

Exit

Sky Seed Bridge

Haven