Earth Mother
1981
by Eric Whollem
earth pigments, charcoal and ash paint in casein on panel
Collection of the artist.
32" x 22"
Copyright by the artist.
This painting is an image that borrows much in technnique from
Australian aboriginal art. I used sticks as brushes like the aborigines.
Earth Mother is a work that celebrates Gaia, our mother nature.
The use of casein emulsion as a paint binder has a symbolic
significance, as casein is a binder made of milk. Earth and milk
thus harmoniously complement one another.
A variety of goddess icons appear in this painting: in the ovoid
shapes near the top and in an egg shaped form in the tableau
in the center of the painting.
In 1973 I gathered my first raw earth pigments for the purpose
of making my paints from scratch. In the years following I
made at least fifty different natural paints. Some were fine and
powdery, making a smooth and rich paint. Others I intentionally
left very coarse and grainy for textural variation.
I used my father's mortar and pestle. One that he handed down
to me. He was a miner, who did his own assay work, being a
self-taught chemist.
THE VIDEO BELOW
HAS A SELECTION OF MY
PAINTINGS MADE FROM NATURAL EARTHS
ERIC WHOLLEM
ALCHEMY AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
I have been a student of alchemical literature over the years.
The alchemists were always busy grinding up all sorts of things
in their pursuit of chemical and medical science. They also
had a mystical side to their researches, seeking The Philosopher's
Stone. This search for the stone was always left rather ambiguous;
often intentionally to preserve the secrets of the alchemists, if not
the air of mystery.
Many alchemists thought the secret of the stone was the chemical
manufacture of gold from other elements. Others spiritualized the
search into finding what was purported to be the true spiritual gold:
illumination and enlightenment.
GRINDING UP PLANT MATERIALS IN MY MORTAR
I have used my mortar and pestle to grind up barks and plant fibre,
making incense from natural materials. One of the best incenses
that I discovered was from the rotting stump of an old fir tree.
The punk wood of this tree produced an odor not unlike choco-
late when burned.
I found that aged cedar bark also produces a very lovely incense.
It helps to have an old fasioned wood stove and to place the ground
barks on the heated metal surface. Saps from trees also make some
interesting, but intensely pungent incenses. Pine sap is anciently
referred to as balsam. And medicinally it is an expectorant.
INKS FROM PLANT SUBSTANCES
I have also explored inks for drawing from plant substances like
onions (a traditonal approach).
Black cherry juice makes an acceptable ink, that still is unfaded after
forty years. I utilized it a lot as an ink for handmade seals that I
created to embellish my drawings in the early seventies.
_____________
See my posts on EARTH PAINTS on this link:
http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/earth%20paints
BELOW ARE A FEW
OF MY EARTH
PAINTINGS
(Copyright by the artist)
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
ALAYA
by Eric Whollem
BELOW ARE A FEW
OF MY EARTH
PAINTINGS
(Copyright by the artist)
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
ALAYA
by Eric Whollem
KING OF THE WOOD
PAINTED STONES
by Eric Whollem
My posts on alchemy can be found here:
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FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION
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