Art

Gromyko Padilla Semper is an artist based in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Largely self taught, his work has been exhibited in various Galleries and Museums throughout Singapore, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Austria, Mexico, the United States, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Semper’s drawings are executed to imitate woodcut prints, embody a personal, invented mythology (fernal) after the fashion of William Blake in the early nineteenth century; the symbolists, surrealists and decadents; and up to and including British artist Patrick Woodroffe’s Mythopoeikon (1976) and The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony (1979) and the forerunner of Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, the influential visionary painter, Ernst Fuchs. Semper’s woodblock style drawings and paintings has some affinities with Albretch Durer’s, but is quite unique, drawing heavily on both the Roman Catholic and supernatural folk traditions of the Philippines, quantum mechanics, alchemy, world mythology, classical art, occult, art nouveau, and the gamut of erotic drawing from Japanese Ukiyo-E to Aubrey Beardsley. more » “Artist Gromyko Semper”

Adopted by bees, the wild places and the secret depths of the heart, my paintings recall the forgotten language of remembering. Combining the traditional oil painting methods with modern visionary imagery, my work speaks in the old language, woven with the sacred threads and heralding a renewed connection to the living earth. As a deep prayer and with great reverence for the sacred spark carried throughout time, the mysteries are rendered as always, hidden but in plain view. Invoking connection to the plants, the animals and all that is seen and unseen.

It is my wish to dedicate my art as a guide map for the symbolic landscapes of ancient vistas, from times before language for this modern age.

To inspire, transform and reveal the alchemic, shamanic and sacred within all people.

more » “Artist Clive Hedger”

Q: How are you inspired to create the powerful and compelling art you are known for?

A: For as long as I can remember, I knew my mission was to share inspiration. As soon as I was old enough to hold a paintbrush in my hand, I began making art, and I have barely put the brush down since. However, inspiration is a difficult energy to pinpoint, and perhaps even more tricky to contrive. The most effective way I’ve found to cultivate inspiration is to sit down at the easel. Just begin. Make art, get messy, have fun, stay curious. Often my best ideas come when I’m working on another piece, in the act of creation, mind at ease and hands and heart engaged. As Picasso said, “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.”

Q: What does an image need to have to express or inspire a shift in awareness?

A: Sometimes even the simplest composition can convey incredibly complex concept. I can’t say what exactly makes a paining poignant or evoke emotion. I don’t believe that it’s the contents of the painting, the subject matter, or even the skill involved in its creation that moves people at the deepest level.
more » “Interview with the Artist Autumn Skye”

A New Beginning, we have had a world-wide crisis with the pandemic, at the same time it was an unprecedented social experiment, we were challenged in many ways. For some it was a rebirth, where isolation caused introspection, made us dig deeper and find other ways to express our creativity. For some it resulted in a sort of clean slate, as previous commitments fell away and new opportunities present themselves.
We start over, with courage and determination. Change is rarely welcome, but regardless of our complacency, change is sometimes necessary. The Pandemic was the advent of something unexpected. A shift in our lives that forced us to do everything differently. How we accept that change is a matter of perspective. We have an innate trust in ourselves. When our lives are difficult, we find reserves within, there is resilience, faith which moves us, and holds us up. For those who are willing to see the positive side in this experience it has been a renewal, where new ideas emerged.
We have been enlightened by events both brutal and compassionate. We have experienced a painful time, on many levels. Some of us have lost loved ones, been challenged financially, have lost opportunities, have struggled with isolation or being separated from loved ones. There have been very real shifts in our awareness of civil rights, political and social inequalities. As artists, we sometimes reflect on the challenges of our society, working what we perceive into our art. While others point to a direction far removed from the struggles at hand, to inspire those who would dare, to follow a new path. For this issue of Miroir, we looked for the artist’s view on what will rise out of the ashes, what comes next, or what they envision for our future.
more » “Genesis by Nina Pak”

Q: How are you inspired to create the powerful and compelling art you are known for?

A: My father died very suddenly when I was still a teenager. I left school. I felt so sad that I started to use spiritual practices to see him again. I ended up having visions – they were like dreams but far more real. I saw things or rather experienced things similar to the prophetic visions described in the bible, or in William Blake’s illustrations. This was a daily occurrence for more than a year and then stopped abruptly. The visions affected me deeply but I didn’t feel compelled to directly represent them in Art. Rather, I wanted the act of painting to be like the visionary state. I taught myself to paint and eventually the process of work itself became the inspiration. It was, is, quite natural. Art is like the throat of a person, the vital breath passes through and the voice is comes out, capable of huge varieties of expression. The speech carries from one person to another- wind through trees. To paint is to walk with the wind and then to fly
with it and, finally, to become the wind.
more » “Interview with the Artist Oliver Hazard Benson”