This is 'Wayfinder', a triptych and my latest artistic offering.
As I emerged from a period of ill health a painting began to form in my mind. Being unwell gives lots of space for thinking, for sorting and sifting through remembered snippets of conversations and realisations. One such memory was of an image that a friend had sent me of a traditional hand tattoo. I had to track back through a years worth of messages before I found it. A simple 'thought you'd like this' along with a link to Samoan hand tattoos and navigation. (My friend had no memory of sending it to me - testament to how something insubstantial to one can be significant to another!).
The link led me to Kala Tanaka, a Polynesian voyager and navigator who's keen to pass on the traditional techniques of her culture. "The ocean swells, the wind, the fishes, the birds that are all out there – you may think that they exist independently, but there is a whole story, a whole dialogue that's happening and they're telling you where you are if you would just listen."
I aimed to keep my painting simple, symbolic - distilling all the contemplation and learning that went into it. I named it Wayfinding after the ancient navigation technique using the night sky and the horizon to locate yourself and your destination. It spoke to me about being at sea emotionally as well as physically. The painting is ambiguous leaving space for questions, are we on the shore daydreaming about a voyage or in a boat?
I was influenced by Christina Troufa, a Portuguese artist who often paints multiple versions of herself. I worked on linen board and left the clothes unpainted, a nod to her style. She says the clothes in her paintings are unimportant as the art is about her internal world. I took photos as my painting progressed. I like every stage of the process. I think each stage, from initial sketch onward is enough in its own right and I'm constantly in fear of overdoing it!
For me, this painting is about finding my own way, trusting my internal compass to set me right. You can see the Southern Cross on the horizon, used by navigators to place themselves since ancient times; and for me, an obvious reference to my faith also. My daughters are there behind me, learning the skills to find their own way. In fact, Moana has already introduced the notion of Wayfinding to them.
I messaged my sister as my painting progressed, telling her all about celestial navigation.
"Very interesting" she said, "what made you base it on that?"
"Because", I answered, "I'm trying to find my way too I guess."