The Eyes have it: Sumerian Inspiration in my Art
When I first started painting in the 90’s I was very much inspired by masks, especially ancient Greek masks. I like to make my faces very simple and mask like. But as time goes on you change and so does your style. I was no longer happy with simple mask faces and wanted more depth to them. But one thing did stay with me from this early influence and that is huge eyes.
My eyes of late are inspired by Sumerian offering statues. Gods I love those things with their huge eyes staring up to the mountains, to the heavens. Those over sized eyes that see the Gods, that see the beyond. Why were the eyes so important in Sumer, I don’t know but they have stuck with me.
Every once in a while I take a stab at creating a gal with more normal sized eyes and it feels off. It just never feels right unless it is s aside profile. I’ll keep looking at the face trying to figure out what is off and it comes down to the smaller eyes. It usually comes down to me making them bigger. It is just not fun to paint a face you do not feel engaged with or don’t like.
My focus is not what I see in the world around me but the world I see that lives within me. Somehow the eyes feel like they play a huge role in that looking inward to find inspiration. I will keep my Sumerian eyes until they stop speaking to me, which doesn’t feel like it will be anytime soon. I will keep my connection to a mythic system I find fascinating and give homage in my own manner.
