Madge Plants a Tree in Cantharidia
1972
by Eric Whollem
acrylic on panel
Collection of the artist.
2 x 4'
Copyright by the artist
The Mystery of Imagination
I painted Madge Plants a Tree in Cantharidia in 1972.
She bears an orange tree. And a golden orange seems to
float in the sky, perhaps having fallen ripened from the branch
of the tree. A blue jay rests in her hand.
I wrote of Madge in my journals when I was young. Many
prose sketches, drawings, and poems in which she was
prominently featured.
I styled Madge as short for Imagination. Her fruit was the
orange. She was Scottish and had red hair.
Rainbeetle
In my as yet uncompleted novel, Rainbeetle, Madge is a
main character, typified as the "Goddess of Imagination."
This book was begun in 1973 and has gone through
many revisions. It is the story of Rainbeetle's mystic
quest through the Desert of Imagination.
Some will note that Madge's Cantharidia is the namesake
of the cantharidae, an order of beetle.
quest through the Desert of Imagination.
Some will note that Madge's Cantharidia is the namesake
of the cantharidae, an order of beetle.
Madge I see as my Psyche itself, my soul, my muse.
In my private mythology William Earl of Blackberry was
the male counterpart of Madge. Thus I posited Will and
Imagination as the primal pair.
Utterances of the Muse
The Muse says, "When she bites into an orange she is
biting into the sun. She takes all her inspiration from the
sun. The womb of creativity: this is the orange."
"The water is giving to the earth. Just look at the energy:
the female energy in love with God. We know their love
makes diamonds and rubies. The rocks of Maya, so rough
--if you open them up you see the jewels like muticolored
fish in the ocean."
________________
Readers may want to see other early Acrylic Paintings on this link:
My posts about The Muse may be found here:
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