The Augury series

Augury: The art, ability, or practice of auguring; divination.
A sign of something coming; an omen.
The art or practice of foretelling events by signs or omens.
– The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
Although I have developed many works in the abstract areas of painting, I had also been contemplating another series of figuartive works for a while, combining elements of mythology, esotericism and science fiction.

The first work in this series was "The Oracle of Xenoclea", a multi figured work that is probably one of my strangest.

Xenoclea was a Pythia (priestess) at the temple of Apollo in Delphi. There is historical evidence that this divinatory temple really existed, serving the ruling classes of the Greek elite in divining the future through the use of seers and ritualistic methods. 

In my work the priestess Xenoclea is herself part A.I. She can "see" in 360 degrees, way back into the primeval past (represented by the T-Rex), the future (represented by the robot and the astronaut) and into other dimensions (represented by the skeletal and wolf headed figures). The skeletal figure lying in the cosmic dust, represents the recent past, dead and gone, fading into the mists of time.
The Oracle of Xenoclea | Oil on canvas | 122 x 92 x 4 cm | 2022
The Oracle of Xenoclea | Oil on canvas | 122 x 92 x 4 cm | 2022
The Oracle of Xenoclea | Oil on canvas | 122 x 92 x 4 cm | 2022
Casting the Spell | Oil on canvas | 92 x 122 cm | 2022
Casting the Spell | Oil on canvas | 92 x 122 x 4 cm | 2022
Casting the Spell | Oil on canvas | 92 x 122 cm | 2022
Casting the Spell (detail)
Casting the Spell | Oil on canvas | 92 x 122 cm | 2022
The next work in this series was "Casting the Spell", another multi figured work, based on an altar type configuration.

The figures symbolically represent the Earth, Moon and Mars and so in turn speak of the eternal connection between our own planet and the human destiny, or at least the intention, to construct bases on the Moon and Mars respectively.

Of course Elon Musk and the Space X program are pushing for this very outcome, although many believe it is doomed to failure due to the in-hospitable nature of both heavenly bodies. 

However, that urge to conquer the stars has long been a dream, at least since the first moon landings gave a hint that it could really be a possibility.

Time will of course tell what will happen, but it now seems certain that some kind of mission to both the Moon and Mars is certain...

Stylistically this work is one of my most detailed making full use of the old master inspired technique of underpainting and glazing.
The Third work in this series features a mythical nature god which references Pan or Cernunnos from the Celtic pantheon of nature deities.

He is contemplating the loss of these natural environments as they collapse and swirl into chaos, a definite reference to climate change.  

This work combines the abstract landscape techniques in "The World Beyond" series with the old master under painting for the figure...
The Melancholy of Forgotten Worlds | Oil on canvas | 122 x 76 x 4 cm | 2022
The Melancholy of Forgotten Worlds | Oil on canvas | 122 x 76 x 4 cm | 2022