The Mind, Body, and Unrest of SPIRIT

The last painting, SPIRIT, was something I had thought about in one form or another. The stresses of daily life were difficult enough for me to think more about my mental health. It was through this that I became interested in meditation, and started to look at the human body differently.
Slowly, my interest in this subject would escalate over time. First, with my painting THIRD EYE, and then learning about the other Chakras of the energy body. I had originally thought about doing a series of paintings about the Chakras, but it never happened. I would come across many books as inspiration, including an old documentary narrated by Leonard Nimoy called The Human Aura: Documentary on Mysterious phenomenon.

The Human aura was something I was interested in. But just maybe, this idea was too esoteric for people to appreciate. The light body was an abstract concept, giving me some freedom for artistic experimentation. When the last painting for the SPIRIT series came, this felt like it was the right path to explore. I wasn’t really interested in doing a painting about Death, well, the skull and bones version of it. It was during this time that someone in my family about would have health issues. What began as a painting became a personal struggle.

There were many moments where I would start and then stop, wiping off the surface of what I had painted from the canvas and starting over again. This continued repetitively for a couple of weeks. There was a part of me that began to think that I would not finish, or of stopping this completely. But I continued to proceed forward, to keep working as it was the only thing keeping me together. Eventually, the health issues would subside, and the recovery process would begin for them.

I eventually returned to finish my painting, determined to keep going, with renewed purpose and appreciation of life.

Victor Ramirez

Seeing THE SEANCE

The Seance was a painting I had been thinking about for a long while. My interest in this wasn’t for artistic purposes. I remember seeing the posters displayed at carnivals for mediums. They were either illustrated or photographed, and you weren’t sure if they were real or not. This was at a time before digital was around. As a kid, we are very impressionable and one would tend to wonder about these superstitions. When we become adults, we outgrow these things and dismiss them as fables and folklore.They are just immaterial and not tangible. Some may look at religion in the same way.

Recently, I had become curious about these things again. Modern life with it’s technology had become cold. Digital is now the excuse to the answer to everything.
I was considering going in a more Victorian direction using models or friends at first. As the idea developed further, and after speaking to a few people, it began to change. One person I knew remarked, “ No F#&*g Ouija boards.”(No argument from me.) It was apparent how uncomfortable this concept was. I am sure some people that I knew began to think I was becoming an Occultist. The other reason was that the drawings I had done previously seem to intuitively draw me in on their own. After a few false starts, and getting out of my own way, it slowly started to come together. I had to divide it up in three parts to keep all the details.

One influence was this old documentary from the BBC called, “Science and the Seance”. The history of the Seance and Spiritualism. You can watch here, broken into four parts.

The photography of the late 19th and the 20th century also continued to inspire me. The magical quality of these old photos really captured something. You can see them for yourself and decide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0HncGNBCqY

I had finished my painting after a long period of working in winter darkness. The process of creating this was both challenging and comforting, unlike some other projects I had done.

Whether you believe in it or not, a healthy amount of skepticism is fine to have. There are plenty of frauds claiming to be mediums. For the very few that are real, they are unassuming and go unnoticed. The world comes with many prejudices. These type of things were mysterious and interesting growing up when I was a boy. As an Adult, it is nice to know they still are.
Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

A Moment of EVIL

The origins of this painting began in late spring.

The weather was becoming humid and hot. Spring would slowly turn into Summer. I was feeling very uncomfortable on my daily traveling commute during this time. People on the subway were feeling very irritated as there was a lack of air-conditioning. I would be a witness to many pushes and shoves between commuters. There was a feeling all around that was uncaring and rude. It was something I was constantly ignoring, but not happy with. I just tried to immerse myself in other things but would always get a reminder in some shape or form. In the background, shootings and violence were on the rise in Toronto.

CityNews Toronto image

I was trying to work on something different to keep my mind off of things. But, I was struggling with the idea I wanted to do, or a composition at least. The heat was keeping me indoors with its humidity and I wasn’t feeling very clear about what I wanted. Then, a few small events occurred during the week that would shift my mood to that of disgust and anger. Whatever previous ideas I had originally, had evaporated.
I was angry, not in an outburst sort of way, but shimmering like a pot of boiling water about to spill over. It wasn’t something obvious or something directed at a specific person. I wanted to understand where my contempt was coming from and whether it was warranted. I didn’t want to be feeling this way, but ignoring it wasn’t helping.
I began to look into doing some research into these criminals, reading articles and listening to various taped interviews. The information collected from psychologists seemed to suggest various factors. The most common one was a dramatic event in their lives that happened, led them to this path. Some had embraced it and others appeared cold and unfeeling to what they had done.  No remorse or feeling in their reaction. There was a truth that was very ugly and much more disgusting. The actions and behavior of these individuals I do not condone.

Listening to these interviews made me think about how others interact with daily life. This idea of distortion and the perception of a disturbed individual became something I felt needed exploring. The hidden anguish was something more human, yet, felt very biblical to me. I came up with a drawing that was the view point of a distorted messiah. I  didn’t want to make it super violent because it would take away the point.  In some way, my choice not to create violent imagery was a subtle “middle” finger to everything that was going on.
When I reminisce about this painting, I feel as though I had anxiously overworked it. Perhaps, I could have pushed this concept much further. The heat and the humidity was a factor. Some things I might have done differently, from a technical point of view. For all its flaws, the energy in it is still there, simplicity, raw, and reflected the mood I was in. In that regard, I find it very appealing. Despite it all, I still feel very fortunate to get a finished painting out of this. So that is enough.
Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

Love in a LUCID DREAM

She kissed me slow and deep. There was a familiarity to it I couldn’t deny, like we had done this before. Images flashed in my mind, about her and I having a life together.
Sometimes, I would be older and she would be younger, or sometimes it was the reverse. Her hair color would change every time I would see her. First she was a brunette,  then it she was blonde, or strawberry red. No matter how she presented herself, I knew it was her. All of that were just costumes. She was very mischievous in that way, knowing all my thoughts before I did. When she spoke, I couldn’t hear her voice but only see her lips move as one would in a silent film. The kiss felt emotional, happy, and sad at the same time. Goodbye.

Then, I had awakened, paused for a moment, only to ask myself just what the hell I am doing here. It was a dream. It was only a Dream.

For the next few days life would resume as usual. There was a tint of sadness following the next few mornings, workdays, and evenings. I thought about her for a while, yet didn’t know her name. I went to life drawing class in the evening like I usually do. While concentrating on drawing the model, they were playing ambient music in the background. I asked the Moderator of the studio what CD was this. He told me it was a mix, and mentioned some band which I can’t recall. It made me think of my dream and I began to work on this painting.

Most of the time, I would be visiting the parks, going for walks. I didn’t want to lose that feeling, looking for the same type of colors and plants that I saw in the dream. The fall season had just started around this time. I kept wondering who she was, but my memory kept coming up with nothing. In hindsight, I believe I was meant to forget, but she left  just enough for me to remember. The intensity of these feelings eventually faded over time. For a short while though, the dream felt more real than life over here. She was real enough for me to create this painting. I hope I see her again.

Victor Ramirez

THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

Fragility in FAITH

This article is one I have been procrastinating on for some time, to speak about this painting, FAITH. There are times when real life and the creative life intersect each other. Those are rare moments, and often when they do, it is always in a unique frame of context, and sometimes not by choice. I don’t have the intention to create art in this manner. But once in a while, a situation like this does happen. FAITH was a painting that came from tragic circumstances.

Last year, there was a death in my family. It was very sudden, and we were all in a period of grieving. I won’t go into specifics, out of respect and privacy for relatives. This article is not about that, but about how this painting came to be. The events of this tragedy affected me, and the months that followed were very difficult. During this time, the most menial tasks of daily routine felt grim. Everything felt long and I was going through the motions, getting through the day, minutes at a time. When someone dies, it affects yourself and all the people around you who knew them. We all grieve, express it in many different ways, and sometimes, it’s not so obvious to everyone.

Most of this period was spent speaking to friends and family, grateful for their love, support, and the conversations we shared. These discussions lasted for many weeks, and some were also going through similar circumstances. I don’t remember an exact moment when I started working on art again. However, I do remember that it took a long time, with many missteps, stops and starts before getting to something. The theme of “bad things happen to good people” seemed to dominate my mood. It was all I could think of, and I knew that it was something I had to do, before I could move on.  I knew that things would never be the same.

It was out of this theme that I began to think about faith, and what it means to believe. I went through some sketches before I settled on one that spoke to me.

The process of putting this together felt very sombre , cathartic. Artists sometimes speak about their work as a form of therapy, a way to heal themselves. Writing this made me realize we tend to take these skills for granted. Creativity is not limited to making pictures. It is so much more than that. It heals the heart and the soul, for all alike. This has never felt more close to me.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

Inbetween HAUNTED SPACES

Haunted Spaces was the fifth of a series of paintings called SPIRIT.

I was interested in doing a painting of the interior of a room with a fireplace. I have always felt drawn to fireplaces, the way they warm and light up a room. When this came up, it was an opportunity to do so.

The idea of a haunted room had been brewing for a while, but it had constantly been put aside for various reasons. During this time, I had been getting into looking at old furniture and decor. I really wanted to make a painting about a room and space.

A spiritual residual haunting of a person’s home is an intriguing subject. When someone’s spiritual energy is attached to a home, it comes from a violent traumatic death or emotional experience. The event is so painful and frightening that the energy imprints itself onto the home and the space inside. The emotional energy left behind can sometimes repeat the event over and over again like a film recorded loop. In some other cases, it can have its own separate, negative distorted consciousness, behaving in destructive ways.

There are many stories and documentation about hauntings, not all can be verified or denied. Some of the most famous hauntings like the Winchester hauntings and the Amity Horror house stand out to me.

Oddly enough, I was more focused on the whole design aspect of the room, particularly the fireplace. It wasn’t until I started looking at mirrors that I began to think about ghosts. The aspect of looking into the mirror and having the room reflect back at us, as the viewer, made me rethink how distorted things can be, both in life, and in death. Everything seemed to converge together after this realization.

I chose a large canvas for this, which measured ’36 X 48’ inches, almost life sized. The larger size felt right and I really wanted that feeling of space. The whole period of working on this painting felt very obsessive. I would paint every chance I would get, often cancelling other plans, and not going out at all on the weekends. There was this feeling of anxiousness to get it done, afraid that if I didn’t, I would lose it.

When it was finished, I felt a great heaviness was lifted and relieved. By then, I was left wondering if the painting I had done, had always been there. There are paintings you work to achieve, and then there are ones that create themselves. Haunted spaces was one that I felt was born into this world, and I was just here along for the ride.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

The Nature of a TREE SPIRIT

Tree Spirit is the first painting I had completed when I began a new series of works called SPIRIT. A series I am still  working on which isn’t finished. This painting was something that came about rather intuitively and quick. At the time, I didn’t realize the importance of it until I started to write this article.

The summer of 2013 had arrived, and it was very hot and humid. I had been keeping myself in the apartment with the air conditioning on. The hot smog in the city was making me feel sweaty, dizzy, and uncomfortable. I didn’t venture outside very much and when I did, it was for small moments at a time. I felt sluggish and lazy for most of this period, but despite it, I was happy that summer was here.

I had still been sketching on small pieces of paper pads, from my previous painting series. It was still the way I had worked before I changed methods again. I had been randomly drawing and this odd looking tree body came up. Since my focus has always been on the human figure, I hadn’t really gave it much thought to this sketch. Restless, I put aside the drawing for the time being. There was this strong desire to go out and be with nature. However, every time I would go out, I would be turned off by humidity and smog and go back to the apartment. This became a rotating routine for a while.

Several days would go by before I would sketch on the pads again. When it did happen, I ended up doing another drawing of this tree woman. This second sketch felt random but there was a slight nudge, almost as if she herself was pleading with me to do it.
As an urban city person, you tend not to think of nature very much. It becomes part of the background in daily life. But I felt very preoccupied feeling the green. The concrete jungle I was living in was making me feel very grey.

I had only began to read about Tree Spirits after I started painting, the various myths and interpretations about a deity. A tree nymph that was worshiped as a god of nature and fertility seemed to be symbolized universally in different religions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tree_deities

There was many references and different websites dedicated to Tree Spirits. As much as I found them interesting, I moved on rather quickly with this painting. There was just an urgency to do so, and I really didn’t think of anything else.

At the time, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going creatively. Eventually, I decided that I needed a change and started to attend life drawing class, which led to Earthbound. The human figure, the shapes, body and character that make up a human being still interested me. But I needed to change, and this painting was the first seed of the new series.

I will never forget the summer of 2013.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

Along came a BUTTERFLY

When this idea started, it was something that was unexpected.

I was downstairs in my building, putting out my recyclables as I usually do.  As I began to throw them away, I noticed this large yellow monarch butterfly sitting on the rear corner edge of the large metal bin. It was a little larger than some others I had seen, with yellow wings and black dots. The butterfly sat there for a few seconds, flew off quickly, and then disappeared. I resumed putting the rest of the recyclables out and resumed my business for the day.

For some reason though, I kept thinking about that butterfly. I was partial startled by its appearance. My curiosity translated into looking up that Butterfly, to looking at many butterflies. It brought me to see the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection, rather than one of vanity.  The resurrection aspect made me think about ancient tombs and sculpture. There was an angelic feeling to this even though I wasn’t thinking about Angels specifically.

Around this time, I had also checked out a book from the library called “Proof of Heaven” by Eben Alexander. He was a Neurosurgeon who experienced a near death experience and returned to life from the dead. I felt drawn to read it, even though I wasn’t thinking about it for my project. It was a short book. Oddly, it had a small butterfly on the cover too.

Eventually, I chose a drawing I had from my sketchbook and proceeded to work on this.

My final composition didn’t deviate too much from the original sketch, but my feelings were different. I wanted to stay closer to that angelic mood. As I was developing this, I was looking at a lot of art from Gustav Klimt, particularly his use of gold in painting. Gold Leaf, it was known as, got me curious to work in this medium. I mixed Gold leaf with Gold acrylic paints in my drawing on canvas, not really sure how it would be, but welcoming the challenge. I enjoyed the process very much and was happy with the results.

Most people would wonder, why bother writing about the events that influenced you to create a painting? But, based on my past experiences, I have learned not to dismiss or ignore anything as trivial. All of these steps happened very slowly and subtle.

As I continue to write this, I am reminded that the Egyptians used gold for their coffins. When I used gold leaf, I did not consciously think about them. As one can see, going from the butterfly, the book, and to the gold leaf, this influence was far-reaching.

In my opinion, I think the butterfly was a message.
One that I received, loud and clear.
Victor Ramirez.

THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

Being EARTHBOUND

Earthbound is one of the paintings from a new series called SPIRIT I’m working on. There were a few influences that caused this painting to come about. A few months had passed after I had finished the DAYDREAM series. There was this strong need to explore and experiment. I wasn’t sure of what I wanted at the time but I was open to many things.

During this period, I had started attending a walk-in life drawing class to get some more practice in. The usual areas I would sketch in were becoming stale to me. A change was needed, and it was really helpful. Being in a group atmosphere with people of similar interests kept me from feeling isolated. The Life drawing sessions kept me grounded and humble when I felt I ran out of things to explore.

The other influence came from a conversation I had with a friend, while being a passenger in his car. A discussion about the human consciousness. What was said between him and I will always remain private. However, what was spoken about, remained with me a long time after we parted ways.

Ghosts is a subject that has retained my interest from time to time. People who have died and are stranded here on earth, unable to move forward or connect with our world. It had been in the back of my mind for some time, waiting for me to acknowledge it. How life must be for them, and to remind us how short our time is on Earth.

What also came to mind for me, was the thought of people who have the ability to see spirits. The Mediums, Empaths, or Psychics who have the gift of Clairvoyance or Clairsentience. I imagined that a person like this wouldn’t be able to get much sleep or privacy. They would be constantly hassled by spirits of the dead. Despite what you see in television shows like Ghost Whisperer, I think their lives would be very lonely or have very few close people they could confide in. Isolation seemed to be a common theme for this painting. We are often always alone, are we?

With both of these scenarios in mind, I came up with a drawing and decided to get to work on this. There were some approaches I wanted to try with color, both on an abstract level and the figurative. This painting gave me a chance to expand my color palette in ways I couldn’t do before.

I wasn’t trying to copy or emulate how ghosts were portrayed before in Cinema. My primary goal was to first tell a story, without speaking or being so obvious. I rather let people use their own imagination, to look and find what they want to see. Personally, the end result was very satisfying. I was happy to do it.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

The OLD MAN WINTER Cometh!

Old Man Winter is an earlier Oil painting that  came to me when I was living in Pickering, Ontario. At the time, I had not been creating art very much, and going through a transitional period in my life.

For what little I was doing, I would go outside for a walk around the area, and pick out places to sketch. This wasn’t as easy as one might think. I was living in a residential suburb and it was very conservative in its surroundings. There weren’t really many structures to choose from that had variety. I liked drawing live outside, and since it was a private community, the very action of someone sitting outside drawing was liable to attract unwanted attention. My intentions were never to disturb any of the other residents. So, I roamed around the neighbourhood, searching for a spot where I wouldn’t be disturbed. It was not like I was getting a lot of practice drawing at this point.

I found a small forest near a ravine off the side road and decided to venture in. It was dense enough that I felt I wouldn’t be seen, yet easy to not get lost in. After a few minutes of wandering around, I came across an old rustic shaped tree. This tree seemed to have stood out out from the rest, looking older and more developed.

For some reason, I felt this compulsive need to take a photograph of it. I really didn’t know why at the time, but I did it anyway. I left the forest, thinking I would return to sketch, but the winter was very cold and I forgot all about it.

A few weeks later, I would return back to the same area where I had found the tree. To my astonishment,  some of the trees in the wilderness had been destroyed for landscaping purposes, and that the old rustic tree I was so fixated on was gone.

I returned home and proceeded to work on the painting, thinking about the impression this tree made on me. I knew the tree was not totally lost, but that it still existed in the photo I took. In a strange way, when I look back on it now, I think that compulsive need I was feeling was the tree’s way of saying,”Save me”, and I did.

Every year now when the cold winter would come, I would often think about that tree, knowing that it is still alive in this painting.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com