Art Blog/Eric Whollem: 04/01/2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

ANGAKOK/ the transformation of an Eskimo shaman into a seal/ WATERCOLOR AND INDIA INK ON PAPER/ a figurative pictographic abstraction

Angakok

1983

by Eric Whollem

India ink and watercolor on paper

Collection of the artist

9 x 6"

Copyright by the artist

The Eskimo Shaman

Angakok is a name given to the shamans of the Eskimos
in Alaska. The angakok is related to the shamans of Siberia,
where metaphysical practitioners are called "divers." This
diving relates to the duck, which is a bird which can fly high,
but also dive deep into the sea.

Wisdom's Neutrality

1984

by Eric Whollem

India ink, gouache and plastic emulsion on paper

Collection of the artist

5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

THE DIAMOND BODY/ earth pigments, polyvinyl resin, and watercolor on paper/ A GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION/ metaphysical symbology

The Diamond Body

1981

by Eric Whollem

earth pigments, polyvinyl resin, and watercolor on paper

Collection of the artist.

10" x 7"

Sunday, April 25, 2010

THE YELLOW MASK/ abstract art/ MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER/ a figurative abstraction

The Yellow Mask

1984

by Eric Whollem

India ink and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist

4 1/2 x 2 1/8"

Saturday, April 24, 2010

SONG OF THE PEOPLE/ an abstract work depicting the Kakinim, or spirits, who are evoked in the singing of traditional Maidu Indian music

Song of the People

1984

by Eric Whollem

watercolor, plastic emulsion, and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist

9 x 6"

The Kakinim

The Kakinim are those beings who are called

spirits or ghosts by the Concow Maidu Indians

of Northern California. Kakini is the singular

form of the word.

The Sutter Buttes in the Sacramento Valley are

called Histayami by the Maidu. Histayami is

divided into three spirit levels by the Maidu.

Kakinimkodom, or Spirit Country, is the highest

level.

This painting gives an imaginative visual form

to a Maidu song. . . a surrealistic interpretation.

BELOW IS A VIDEO ABOUT

CONCOW MAIDU

CULTURE

ERIC WHOLLEM

An excellent album of Maidu songs was issued

by Pacific Western Traders in Folsom. I used to

live in the house of one of the singers on that album,

Herb Young, a shaman of the Maidu.

_______________

SPIRIT ANIMALS OF THE CONCOW MAIDU

Video by Eric Whollem

See my posts about the Maidu Indians on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/maidu%20indians

SEED FIRE/ a mixed media abstraction symbolizing the life force in seeds

Seed Fire

1984

by Eric Whollem

watercolor, parafin, earth pigments and polyvinyl resin

Collection of the artist

6 x 9"

NEW COLUMBIA/ a mixed media abstraction on paper

New Columbia

1984

by Eric Whollem

watercolor and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist

9 x 6"

Thursday, April 22, 2010

SHASTA HOMEOPATHIC/ mixed media: bronze paint, acrylics, and pumice from Mt. Shasta in polymer emulsion/ ALCHEMICAL TRANSMUTATION

Shasta Homeopathic

                                       1983
                                        by Eric Whollem
                                        mixed media on paper
                                        Collection of the artist
                                        4 3/16" x 3 3/4"
                                                                 Copyright by the artist

Transmuting Emotive Energy Through Art

This painting utilizes earth paints made from volcanic
pumice from Mt. Shasta in conjunction with a variety of
other paints. In this work I attempted to reengergize my
art with earth from a sacred place. The pigment used here
was gathered on the McCloud side of the mountain.

Magic Bird Rock

1983

by Eric Whollem

India ink on paper

Collection of the artist

The Birds of the Petroglyph Section

MODOC ROCK ART, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Tule Lake used to be much larger than it is today.

Thousands of years ago many of the rock promontories

in the desert north of the Modoc Lava Beds were islands

in the lake.

LITTLE OLD MAN/ a pictographic mixed media abstraction based on California Indian rock art

Little Old Man

1984

by Eric Whollem

India ink and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist

9 x 6"

Copyright by the artist

___________________

See more of my FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS on this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/figurative%20abstraction

Pictographic Abstractions Video.

A figurative abstraction.

ETHERIC ORGANIC/ an abstract work of art

Etheric Organic

1984

by Eric Whollem

gouache and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist

6 x 9"

DAYDREAMS/ India ink, wax and plastic emulsion resist on paper/ ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM/ PICTOGRAPHIC ART

Daydreams

1984

by Eric Whollem

India ink, wax and plastic emulsion resist on paper

Collection of the artist

5 1/2" x 4 3/16"

COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

SEE MORE OF MY ABSTRACT ART

ON THIS VIDEO

Figurative Abstractions by Eric Whollem

BOX BLOCKS/ a geometric abstraction in watercolor medium

Box Blocks

            1981
              by Eric Whollem
              watercolor on paper
              Collection of the artist
              3 3/8" x 2 1/4"
                            Copyright by the artist

CUMBERLAND GAP/ mixed media resist on paper/ ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM/ PICTOGRAPHIC ART

Cumberland Gap

                                                    1986
                                                     by Eric Whollem
                                                     mixed media on paper
                                                     Collection of the artist
                                                     6 x 9"
                                                                                        Copyright by the artist

Listening to Old Timey Mountain Music

I was listening to Cisco Houston's version of "Cumberland
Gap," an old Appalachian folk song, when I painted the work
seen here. Such titling, no doubt, is not uncommon with artists.
Everything has it's subtle influence.

DREAM FARM ROADS/ a visionary interpretation of Chi Chi Te, Black Earth Village, of the old Mooretown Rancheria in Feather Falls/ CONCOW MAIDU CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN THE WORKS OF ERIC WHOLLEM

Dream Farm Roads

              1986
             by Eric Whollem
               gouache and wax resist on paper
               Collection of the artist
                            Copyright by the artist

The Big Heads of Chi Chi Te

This mixed media painting is filled with pictographic
symbols that relate to the culture of the Concow Maidu
Indians of Butte County, California.

BIRD WOMAN/ figurative ceramic goddess sculpture

Bird Woman

                                            2010
                                            by Eric Whollem
                                            business card
                                                                       Copyright by the artist

Sea Green Skies

               1986
               by Eric Whollem
              Collection of the artist
               6 x 9"
                          Copyright by the artist.

SCRYING THE BERYL STONE/ a geometric figurative abstraction rendered in mixed media/ DIGITAL ART

Scrying the Beryl Stone

                                                    1992-2010
                                                 mixed media digital art
                                                   Collection of the artist.
                                                                                       Copyright by the artist.


The Beryl Stone

My painting of Rosebone, painted in 1972, contained
a red orb. This was the Beryl Stone. See my post of
March 19, 2010 for the whole story.

THE DESERT OF MATERIALISM/ a visionary mixed media painting/ A FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

The Desert of Materialism

1984

by Eric Whollem

Collection of the artist

6 x 9"

The Desert of the World of Matter

Most people in the world today strive to accumulate

things. This search is a vain one, according to the

teachings of religious masters like Buddha and Jesus,

who advocated spiritual detachment.

The Existentialist philosophers also bemoan the

fruitlessness of worldly things. But usually they arrive

at a form of despair, which gives them no comfort.

The image above is a loose interpretation of religious

icons from Russia, showing a crouching man seeking

water in a dry streambed in the desert.

__________

Readers interested in my posts on Spirituality may want to see:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/spirituality

My posts that deal with Visionary Art may be accessed here:

http://artblogerichwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/visionary%20art

My gallery of Abstract Art may be seen here:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20art

Abstract art, mixed media painting, spirituality, metaphysical art

Monday, April 12, 2010

PRINTEMPS/ visionary figurative mixed media digital art

Printemps

                                                      2010
                                                      by Eric Whollem
                                                      mixed media digital art
                                                                Copyright by the artist.

THE FIRST LEAF OF SPRING/ wax resist on paper/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

The First Leaf of Spring

                                                  1986
                                                  by Eric Whollem
                                                wax resist on paper
                                                Collection of the artist
                                                8.5" x 11"
                                                                                     Copyright by the artist

An Allegory of Spring

This wax resist was painted in a small studio at 1400 feet in
the Sierra Nevada foothills. This terrain is filled with valley
oaks, gray pine, ponderosas and manzanita. The outcrops of
granite have clusters of stonecrop, a native succulent. It was
always the first green leaf of the dwarf oak that was the first
sign that spring was on the land.

THE BLUE MERMAID/ mermaid art from 2010/ mixed media DIGITAL ART/ with comments on the mythological correlations of terms relating to Vilasa, the ecstasy of the Apsaras, and the mermaid Vila of the Ionian Sea

The Blue Mermaid

                                                2010
                                                by Eric Whollem
                                               mixed media digital art
                                                    Copyright by the artist.

Vilasa, the Ecstasy of the Apsaras

Vilasa, in the Sanksrit language means "ecstasy."
The term is usually applied to the Apsaras, who swim
in the mist of the Gandharvas, the Celestial Musicians.
The mermaid's ecstasy is Vilasa.

THE TURQUOISE GARDEN/ the fairy of bounteous harvests visits the magic falls of the Turquoise Mountains

The Turquoise Garden

2010

by Eric Whollem

mixed media digital art

The Allegory of the Turquoise Garden

Turquoise, having a delicate shade of light blue,

symbolizes devotion of a spiritual character. In the

image above a fairy queen is in ecstasy, having

arrived in a mystic valley where the leaves of

plants are blue.

THE FAIRY AND THE FOX/ a poster design for Art Blog/Eric Whollem/ fairy art

The Fairy and the Fox

                                        2010
                                        by Eric Whollem
                                        mixed media digital art
                                         Copyright by the artist.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

BEAR MAN/ shamanic art/ "Pano Maidem" from Concow Maidu Indian legend

Bear Man

1998

by Eric Whollem

goauche, acrylic and parafin resist on paper

Collection of the artist.

Pano Maidem, Bear Man

CONCOW MAIDU SHAMANIC LORE

The Concow Maidu Indians of Butte County, California, often

times call one of their traditional healing doctors "Pano Maidem,"

or "Bear Man." The shamans in the old days would dress up in the

hide of a black bear before approaching a sick person. The doctor

would growl like a bear to "scare away" the sickness in the patient.

Bird Boat

2002

by Eric Whollem

ink and cut paper collage

Collection of the artist.

______________________

See more of my posts of COLLAGE ART:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/collage%20art

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

HIPPOCAMPUS

collage art

by Eric Whollem

THE DANCING GODDESS/ wax resist on paper/ A FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

The Dancing Goddess

1984

by Eric Whollem

gouache and wax resist on paper

Collection of the artist.

Copyright by the artist

_____________________________

See more of my posts of FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/figurative%20abstractions

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

GODDESS' GARDEN

by Eric Whollem

BELOW IS A VIDEO BY

ERIC WHOLLEM

FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS

Abstract art, metaphysical art, mixed media painting.

Monday, April 5, 2010

AT THE EDGE OF THE SEA/ visionary digital mermaid art

At the Edge of the Sea

2010

by Eric Whollem

mixed media digital art

A Poster Design

Above is an advertisement for Art Blog/Eric Whollem

that I recently created.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

MUSE OF THE SEA/ a visionary interpretation of the Waterbearer, the harbinger of the Aquarian Age

Muse of the Sea

                                      2009
                                     by Eric Whollem
                                       mixed media digital art
                                                                  Copyright by the artist.

The Waterbearer, Symbol of Aquarius

A crystal tower from the sea appears in this drawing.
This is the perfect tower, the penultimate beacon. It
supplants all false and poorly constructed edifaces. It
ushers in the realm of communication. It's diamond
matrix is the substratum of enlightened energy.

__________

To see this image among my Aethernet Stamps go to this link:

http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/aethernet%20stamps

Abstract art, allegory, clean water for the planet, metaphysical art.