Suspended Animation: I Fold up when Recharging Before Rebirth.

When life hands us too much to deal with all at once.

There are numerous coping techniques to help when we are overwhelmed with stress.  There's music, meditation, yoga, exercise, the arts always help. If I'm overwhelmed with events, ramming my earphones on, blasting the music up and letting rip on canvas with a palette knife abstract always helps and tends to blow the cobwebs away.

Detail of Consilience. Oil on canvas palette knife painting.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale

However, occasionally events all tend to happen at once.  At the offset we tend to keep going, but as time slices those slippery seconds away into the ether, we realize that those seconds, minutes, hours, days, and then weeks start to move at a pace that we cannot keep up with.  Thus as events intensify, we feel as if we are mentally and emotionally swimming in treacle, which eventually turns into the belief that that we're sinking in quicksand. Sooner or later we become overwhelmed and it becomes impossible to continue, apart from doing those things in life that you absolutely have to do.  This type of mental quagmire often triggers defence mechanisms and because we become stressed, depressed, feel all alone and totally overwhelmed  we also feel that there's no way out. We courageously attempt to plod through it all whilst feeling attacked on every side.  At its best, everything we might hear from those around us or read online feels like something that's been fashioned into a weapon against us. Despite these being downright uncomfortable, the arrows which trigger such emotions are an indication of the areas in our psyche where we need healing the most.  They point towards the sources of anguish and if we are both brave and self aware of what might be going on with our rawest of emotions, hopefully we will have the wisdom to plunge deeper within and start the process of healing.  This takes courage and it is not for the faint hearted.  This process is generally known as the dark night of the soul and contrary to belief, it happens more than once in our lifetime and each time it does, we heal faster, or more completely than the time before.  At its worst we do not realize that these triggers are pointers for healing and we take offence at everything that we see, hear or experience and we react angrily or aggressively.  If we do not do the inner work it is because self awareness has not been triggered alongside of our wounds.  This does often happen a couple of times before the realization hits us of what we are going through and what we are supposed to do for ourselves.

Suspended Animation: I Fold up when Recharging Before Rebirth. Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

Often in life, when we are healing those inner wounds that have hurt the most, we will retreat.  We drop everything that we have been doing, we go into a type of suspended animation and withdraw.  For all intent and purposes, for those we know online it may well appear that we are functioning but those that truly know us quickly realize that the light might be on but in truth, nobody is home.  The inner depths which we have to plumb to realign ourselves with who we truly are takes both time and energy.  We continue to do the necessary things in life but there's only so much energy to go around and if you are serious about self healing, you cannot do it all.  It often amazes me how some people appear to do such deep psychological and spiritual work on themselves whilst continuing to do everything else.  This cannot happen because if you work in this way you will often miss the most important things that need to be faced because you are distracted.  This is a lesson we learn the hard way, we can't be taught this by others who have already walked this path because everyone has different internal cut-off points where we automatically just drop everything.  It's also about being ready to face those demons head on and give them the biggest internal hug that you can and love them for what they are.  

Mitochondrial Eve. Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

There are three sides to a coin. The first side, which dominates us whilst we are in this situation is our inner demon, an angel that cannot take anymore and is now seriously hurt and full to the brim of toxic anger but with the capacity to love deeply. If this side is prominent, self-love is all important. The other side is the healed angel, with their demonic side held in check who is full of loving light-energy, one who is no longer vulnerable and can protect themselves, humility is an important if this side dominates the psyche. However, the coin is held together by the coin's edge, this too has a name, humanity and this is what balances us up and helps most of all with reconciliation of the two opposing sides.  We are humans but within soul, psyche and heart we hold an enormous amount of power to heal ourselves.  Once this has been completed we can help others but we have to be up to that task both ready and willing. Being able to help other people get everything in balance means that you have to be balanced yourself.

Detail of Fire and Ice - Meeting in False Spring. Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

Please be patient, I'm rebranding.  Thank you. 

My work can also be viewed at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TracDaviesArtist

http://www.redbubble.com/people/tracdavies

http://tracdavies.deviantart.com/   

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/tracdaviesartist 

https://www.facebook.com/TracDaviesArtist

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Trac Davies - Artist © 

How circumstances, personal or otherwise affects the creative process.

Covid 19 and all that Jazz!

There has been a long break since I last wrote my blog and I was surprised that I haven't blogged for over two years.  In truth I've tried but my heart hasn't really been in it and I don't believe that I should write my blog when I just haven't heart and soul behind what I'm saying.  My last blog was in the August of 2018, regarding The Black Dog series.  I've tried three times since then to put electronic pen to paper, I've managed poetry, I've managed to get a lot further along with writing in general but I haven't been able to blog.  Strange, why is that?

Suspended Animation: I Fold up when Recharging Before Rebirth.  Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies. Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

Some of this is due to personal and family circumstances, which I am not going to discuss because it's not all about me and anyway, some events are not to be read by a stranger's eyes.  I will say how much I admire people who continue to fly higher than myself despite difficult circumstances, because this has eluded me on many levels.  However, I believe that since the Pandemic situation has arisen there is a general malaise that is being felt worldwide on a truly profound level.  In truth, here in belle Bretagne, things for me have not changed much. I live in the back of beyond, in the winter everything is shut anyway and any lockdown, or as it's known in France le confinement, feels just like normal life. Of course this is only my situation, city life is not the same, being cooped up in an apartment is vastly different than living in the middle of nowhere, where the main traffic that goes past my gate are farm vehicles, wildlife and the odd car who drives gaily up the track leading to the fields because the GPS has sent them that way.

The Awakening. -Trac Davies, Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.
Oil on canvas.

Despite the personal circumstances and the Pandemic I have continued to paint and study as much as I can.  I've plodded on, I've continued to learn, I have not collapsed in a heap of concern, although I will admit that due to all these circumstances I've had some pretty rough days. Life is never easy and it's never clear cut, best to get on with the things that can be done rather than wish for those things that as yet are just not possible such as building business and growing my network of artists, for I've met some wonderfully talented people along the way and some truly beautiful souls.

Avoir la Banane - Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spiral
This painting is part of an exhibition collaborated with Dr. Mike Tremblay and Jacqueline Eirian McKay. 

I have also considered the environmental impact of being in lockdown. In 2020 dolphins were seen in the canals of Venice.  Oil consumption dropped for a short period of time, the wildlife appeared to recover a little.  Yet, it has been stated that the lockdown due to covid 19 will be negligible to the progress of climate change and we have only been allowed a glimpse of what could be.  If only there were better sources of alternative energy sources, if only we could travel without the use of fossil fuels, I could go on but the basic facts is that we've got into consumer habits now and they will be extremely hard to break. As my son, who is an engineer pointed out to me  in 2020, what drives the need for 5G is consumerism. If there wasn't the demand, there wouldn't be the need and this rings true for every energy product we use.  We are responsible for our own carbon footprint but due to the energy industries continual use of fossil fuels such as oil and the ensuing energy crises which will follow, it makes it doubly hard for everyone to reduce their consumption. Climate change is now seen as irreversible and each time I hear or read about a species that is on the brink of extinction because of our consumerism rapidly accelerating the rate of climate change thus melting of the coldest places on earth such as the Artic circle, my heart breaks just that little bit more.  I just can't bear it.

Detail of The Shaman's Vision. Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

In addition, I have discovered in this period of time that there are a vast wealth of motivational memes on being productive or even using our genuis in confinement and curfews in place.  These memes conflict with just as many that state not to take any notice of such posts because living in a Pandemic is psychologically taxing and it is counterproductive to push yourself when you may be depressed or anxious, or in some cases, in deep shock.  These conflicting different memes were all over Facebook and other social media platforms throughout the year 2020 and occasionally make an appearance now.  I have thought deeply about these types of information, and yes to a certain degree we can all progress but not everyone is a Shakespeare or Newton.  This sort of genius is not accessible to many of the human population but being able to progress in our own small way is.  Of course there will always be those of us who will fly high and that is admirable but takes nothing away from our own personal progress.  We can admire, we can strive to attain but we should not compare our own progression with other people's. Moreover, because of the basic fact that there is much concern over those we love, at times there's just not the headspace to be able to learn a new skill and certainly not the energy. I live in France so apart from family that are here, the majority of those I love are in the UK. I am used to not seeing family and friends that are apart from me, therefore I do what I usually do and enter a state of detachment. I can cope better when being apart from them all if I live in such a mental state of suspended animation, but that does not mean that I don't worry about them and care deeply for them all, it just means that each day I can plod on and continue learning and trying to progress as much as I can rather than collapsing into a heap of heartache and thus stopping any progress at all because I am so worried about them all and want to see them but can't do anything about it.   

Talking Heads - The Medic. Oil on canvas
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

Thus here we are in 2021 with as much conflicting information as last year, with as many conspiracy theories and overwhelmed with all of it and our own personal circumstances.  What have we learned from this experience? I believe that we are all still learning much, as long as our hearts and minds are open.   We, as a collective should move forwards together, to build a better world and this would be the ideal but I will confess that I am skeptical about the most powerful and rich people on this beautiful planet being able to do just that because it appears that greed and, at times utter stupidity is still ruling the collective roost. Why should these people have so much power over the lives of so many people and species? This question still eludes me as the question about why they'll put money into trying to get to Mars and not trying to save the beautiful planet that we live on before it is too late.

Talking Heads - Selkie. Oil on canvas.
Trac Davies Spiral Rainbow/l'arc en ciel spirale.

My work can also be viewed at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TracDaviesArtist

http://www.redbubble.com/people/tracdavies

http://tracdavies.deviantart.com/   

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/tracdaviesartist 

https://www.facebook.com/TracDaviesArtist

https://twitter.com/tracdavies

https://www.instagram/tracdavies

Please be patient, I'm rebranding and changing things around and have to update everything.  It's been a hell of a ride and still is.

Trac Davies - Artist ©