Friday, January 21, 2011

Between Earth And Water. Selkie

I very rarely have pieces of work that don't want to be finished. But a canvas I began over a year ago has been one such painting. Several times I've settled down with paint brush to it, but something didn't feel right.? Something nagged me that it wasn't ready to be completed. It wasn't yet it's time? Can a painting have a time? Anyway, so back it went into my big tin chest out of the way and pushed to the dusty corners of my mind, while I carried on with other projects and ideas.
That was until last week when I placed it on the easel again.  This time the cogs of creativity creaked and turned, quite slowly mind, it still being January and me still with my hibernation tendencies. ;)  Eventually it began to turn into a glimpse of a story.  This is how it looked  way back in 2009. Yes 2009! I can't believe it's been that long!?... take a look, it's at the end of the post....  here
And here it is now. Somewhat changed, but I think it works?

                                                              'Between Earth And Water' 
                                                                          Selkie                                                         


A selkie ( as most of you probably know) is a seal that can shed it's skin to become human. It is believed that the legend began on the Scottish islands of Orkney and Shetland where selch or sel(kie) is the scots word for seal. ( from old English seolh )


I'm not sure why this painting suddenly took on the selkie theme? Selkies, Kelpies and Mermaids have been swimming around in a sea themed room in my mind for a long time now though, so they will make an appearance from time to time, in fact I'm already thinking about the Kelpie for a painting. :)
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The painting is now available to buy as a print in my shop here




A few years  ago I had a video cassette of a beautiful film about Selkies. You may have seen it? The Secret of Roan Innish. if you haven't it's well worth looking out for. Sadly my video wore out. One day I will get hold of the dvd and enjoy owning it again.

Here is the trailer....



There is also another film which is on a similar theme that I must confess to not having seen yet. But one that will be definitely on my list to watch this year.
Ondine.

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36 comments:

  1. NeumaisseJanuary 21, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    Wow. Synchronicity. This is a stunning piece of work, and I'll be first in line when you do it as a print. It was definatley worth the wait! I say synchronicity because recently my son brought home a stone for me from the beach. It's shaped exactly like a seal, and I brought it to a gathering of some pagan friends to see what their thoughts were. Every single one of them said "Selkie". Then I open my Blogger dashboard this morning and there this is. First on the reading list. :) Guess I'd better listen more closely to whatever message this entails. :) Maybe for some reason, it was waiting to be finished so that *I* could see this... You're amazing. :)

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  2. Crafty Green PoetJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:03 AM

    Your paintings are beautiful and The Secret of Roan Inish is a wonderful film

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  3. MJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    The first one was pretty, but now it's just gorgeous! Love the seals. I'm a big fan of seaside themes, especially mystical magickal ones about mermaids and such. :)

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  4. DellaJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    Beautiful work as usual, Karen. Always done with a tough of magic.

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  5. Dear FirefliesJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    It's so wonderful that this beauty finally came out of its cocoon. You are such a gifted artist Karen, it's never a surprise how enchanting your art always turns out to be. :) ox

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  6. Ruthie ReddenJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    Karen, this painting is soo beautiful & magical, and full of things i love, it was worth the waiting. i have one painting sat in a corner waiting for me to go back to from over a year ago, maybe paintings can have a time, an idea hidden in the mists. I loved Roan Innish, and shall be adding Ondine to my list of films to see for sure, it looks so intriguing. have a grand weeknd x x

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  7. Elderberry-RobJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    She is a beautiful creature. I have learned a lesson from you today! there is no deadline, there is no finishing line, it's ok to put something away and let it develop .... I always feel I have to hurry to finish what I make or the creative 'flow' will disappear - clearly it doesn't as you have proved, it ripens and matures and reaches new depth. Thankyou Betty x

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  8. inmost_lightJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    When i saw this painting my first thought was about Roan Innish :) I love this painting so much! <3

    p.s
    is it possible that you could open a possibility to comment with name\site URL? - because there's some bug between blogger and openID that doesn't let to comment to people whose site is built on wordpress, like mine. It's quite annoying, because i have to comment with my blogger account, which i no longer use :(

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  9. CaroleeJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    So beautiful!! And I just adore The Secret of Roan Inish....

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  10. The Wessex ReiverJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    I passionately believe paintings have a time and a place to be both created and completed. I have paintings which languish, cobweb covered, in the darkest recesses of the studio, they were passions at one point, but now I know they'll never be finished. I like the way you have changed your painting from terra firma to sub aqua. It works.

    There is a Jethro Tull song called Kelpie and I became obsessed with the lyrics about 4 years ago, playing the track over and over again while in front of a blank canvass an astonishing painting emerged from nowhere, which now has the title Dance with the Devil. I often look at this painting and try and work out how I did it. I can't. There are mysteries in this world we just don't understand, and I for one would prefer these to remain mysteries.

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  11. SuzJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    truly an inspired work of art
    wonderful wonderful

    my verify word is "bless"

    how about that?

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  12. ValeriannaJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    I love the new incarnation of your painting.... though the older version looked lovely as well! Roan Inish is one of my favorite fims, I look forward to seeing the other one, the trailer is intriguing.
    Blessings from the very snowy forest!

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  13. KarenJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    Its a beautiful painting, Karen. I always enjoyed George Mackay Browns stories and novels set in Orkney. The 2 DVDS you mentioned are 2.99 and 4.99 respectively on Amazon at the moment. Have a lovely weekend. Karen X

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  14. JuliaJanuary 21, 2011 at 3:02 PM

    Beautiful, I love how it has evolved from the original, and as an artist, I do agree with you when you write about it not being the right time for a painting...Ive just finished one I began in November and left untouched until now...but there are others, some a year or two old - the time will come and they will be right to paint again.

    Thank you for sharing your lovely work
    Julia x x x

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  15. Gina CuffJanuary 21, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    Stunning painting, Karen! I absolutely love it! :)

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  16. De la RenaissanceJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:57 PM

    Beautiful painting!! I love the 'magic' you weave into each one of your creations!

    I have seen both movies...both are wonderful, but my favorite of the two is Secret of Roan Inish, so much so that I just had to buy the dvd. :0)

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  17. UnknownJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:24 PM

    Hi Karen, Well it was worth waiting for the right moment for the muse to come back to you on this one! She's beautiful and magical! I'm transfixed by her stunning pale blue eyes so gentle and deep! Oh and her seal sisters are beautiful as they wait for her on the shore!
    x x Jen

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  18. rossichkaJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    Dear Karen, your painting is astonishing! I like its metamorphosis and its second life! (By the way the first version looks wonderful, too, but this one is magical!) Obviously you needed this period of time to pass and new impressions and themes to settle in you, maybe without even realizing it! The theme interpreted is very intriguing! The selkie is a personage that has nothing to do with our folklore, but I know about it and the myth has always attracted me. Some years ago I watched another film, but unfortunately I don't remember its title. I remember that the selkie-woman married the man who gave her a shelter and later began to cure the people from the island. But she got sick and the only solution for her was to come back "home"... We'll watch "Ondine" for sure!
    I like the colours of your painting, the seaweed in the girl's hair, her family behind her back and her face towards us, humans... There's so much to imagine!:)

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  19. bright starJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    Both those films are wonderful,I have them both on dvd and enjoy them alot.I love the story of the Mermaid of Zennor.it is intriguing how this legend appears in so mam diffrent places .very Jungian !!!

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  20. Theresa MacNaughtonJanuary 22, 2011 at 12:07 AM

    Your new painting is so beautiful - so serene and mystical! I did see the Secret of Roan Inish many years back. And I absolutely adore the film "Ondine." It is a must-see!!!! So beautifully acted and a few interesting twists and turns - a most lovely faerie tale. Theresa

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  21. planet112January 22, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    i think you needed the time to find the soul of your painting. you got it! its amazing an it touches me deeply! i like seals.. i never heard of selkies, now i want to find out more about this...

    greetings from switzerland..

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  22. AmyJanuary 22, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    I love the tale of Selkies, and this has been our 'theme' for a while (the outer banks, Shetland, Gaelic, Selkie-ishness). The children and I love The Secret of Roan Inish. As a matter of fact, the CD of the music is in our player right now! (: And, ironically, I had bookmarked Ondine on my Amazon wish list, hoping it was similar. Beautiful artwork, as always, and magical. I'm so glad you found the muse inspiration to finish it. You are so talented! Please keep painting (:

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  23. Kerry O'GormanJanuary 22, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    Sometimes we bloggers must be on the same wavelength! Yesterday on my 'song for friday' I posted a Lisa Hannigan video( who contributes to the Ondine soundtrack) and talked about 'Ondine'! I was lucky enough to find a used copy of 'Roan Innish' at the Sally Ann not long ago. It's one of my all time favorites. Love the new painting, of course!.

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  24. rossichkaJanuary 22, 2011 at 5:30 PM

    Hello, Karen! If you have some minutes, please visit my blog - there's an award waiting for you!

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  25. Evangelina PrietoJanuary 22, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Beautiful, so delicated and poetic.
    Hugs

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  26. Ciara BrehonyJanuary 22, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    Ooh! I love how these themes seem to just float around in our heads and then slowly coalesce into something without us even really being aware of until there it is!

    This is beautiful, Karen. :-)

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  27. A mermaid in the atticJanuary 23, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    It's stunning! I've always been fascinated with legends of selkies and mermaids and other mythical sea creatures. This captures their mystery beautifully.

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  28. MouseJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    That is a beautiful movie with a beautiful soundtrack. I've watched it a lot myself.

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  29. Cait O'ConnorJanuary 24, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    I always love to visit your blog, it is always especially beautiful.

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  30. Natalee MayJanuary 24, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    Oh I love her ♥
    I've been thinking of selkies too as of late, there are seals on the coast near to where I live, and I'm writing a story about them.
    Ondine is such a beautiful film, I am sure you will love it.
    x

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  31. Susan MoorheadJanuary 26, 2011 at 3:49 AM

    Have seen both movies, the second one interesting but Roan Inish will become a favorite - everyone who sees it seems to feel this way :)

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  32. Tammie LeeJanuary 26, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    hello Karen,
    Your painting is wonderful, I love all the details that you have included.

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  33. Windsongs and WordhoardsJanuary 26, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    A beautiful reworking, its found its right place I think! That Selkie film trailer looks very interesting too... I have been intrigued with Selkies for years and perhaps your fantastic painting might inspire me to finally paint the Selkie that's been sitting waiting, abandoned in my sketch book for the last two years!

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  34. tlchangJanuary 30, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    Beautiful re-painting Karen. (as you may have noticed on blog, I just finished two paintings that I started at least 2 years (maybe more) ago....! Feels good to get them done.

    I agree with Susan, Ondine is interesting, but Roan Inish continues to be one of my favorite movies. Love the soundtrack as well.

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  35. Pamela Terry and EdwardFebruary 1, 2011 at 5:31 PM

    Roan Inish.
    One of my favourites.
    How wonderful the selkies are visiting you.

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  36. FireLightMarch 13, 2011 at 6:25 PM

    I adore Roan Inish....Ondine is different...but will not disappoint.

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Thanks so much you for leaving me a comment.
It's great to hear from you! :-)

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