Hi everyone. I have decided to transfer images of my best paintings onto this blog so everything can be properly showcased. Please feel free to look and browse and if you see anything you like then here is my contact info: pajarohermoso@yahoo.ca
peace and joy,
Aaron
Three Faces of Aaron
not for sale
1. 2001-2006
"Peacock in Arabesque"
acrylic, 48"x36"
Shining in the night
guarding eternal portals
where we must enter
2. 2005-2006
"White Peacock"
acrylic, 48"x36
SOLD
The glory of white
speaks in distinct metaphor
of our soul's longing
3. 2006
"Pavo real (Royal Turkey)"
acrylic, 18"x24"
Peacock a cliche
of proud arrogant splendour
a royal turkey
William Blake said in his Proverbs of Hell that the "Pride of the Peacock is the Glory of God." This brings to mind how often we project our own human characterisitics onto other living things.
Instead of seeing the unmatched beauty of these gorgeous birds our vision is often eclipsed by conferring onto them our own flaws and weaknesses of pride, vainglory and vanity.
Here is another take on the peacock that I enjoy: they have historically been regarded as symbols of the resurrection of Christ and as symbols of healing, purity and eternal life.
Peacocks for me beg to be painted. I have never tackled a subject so challenging nor from which in each painting I've learned something new about colour, composition and light.
I don't see the peacock as a proud bird and I am sure that they never look at mirrors. Perhaps they can serve as a mirror for us to look into.
4. 2004
"Javanese Green Peacock"
Peacock, Dragon Bird
you bronze and golden armour
has blinded tigers
The Green Peafowl is not widely known in the west. There are three sub-species ranging from Indonesia in the east to Burma in the west. They are slightly larger than their blue cousins, with longer neck and legs. Their plumage is also more brilliant and more iridescent. They are more difficult to keep in captivity because they are delicate and also because the males are particularly savage. They will fight each other to the death, attack other birds and other animals and will even go after people.
5. 2007
"Blood Orange"
acrylic, 36"x24"
Sacrificial fires
will not refuse offerings
made in faith and love
6. 2005
"Enigma"
acrylic, 48"x36"
The peacock watches
and the raven desires the
red pomegranate
7. 2003
"Vigil"
acrylic, 48"x36"
They watch together,
peacock, candle flame and
their dark offspring shadow
8. 2000-2002
"Perigrinaje"
acrylic, 36"x24"
Their colours shining
in this steep mountain ascent
above, eagles soar
9. 2003
"Golden Pheasants on the Manicured Lawn of Heaven"
acrylic, 48"x36"
On eternal lawns
they shine in endless daylight
without fear or dread
10. 2005
"Cardinal Points"
acrylic, 48"x36"
dancing across fiery lawn
that ordain our lives
11. 2008
"El pavo real que haya perdido el camino a Alajuela"
acrylic, 30"X20"
12. 2008
"Dragon Bird with Orchids"
acrylic, 30"x30"
13. 2008
"Himalayan Monal"
acrilic, 22" x 28"
1. 2005
"Red-Capped Parrots"
acrylic, 48"x36"
2. 2002
"Hyacinth Macaws Set in Gold"
acrylic, 48"x36"
3. 2005-2006
"Macaws"
acrylic, 48"x36"
4. 2006
"Hyacinth Macaws in Community"
acrylic, 48"x36"
5. 2001
"Extinct Parrots"
acrylic, 48"x36"
Commission
7. 2008
"The Stranger"
acrylic. 24"x36"
"Los colibris triunfantes"
acrylic, 48"x36"
2. 2005
"Colibris"
acrylic, 48"x36"
3. 1999-2002
"Jubilation"
acrylic, 48"x36"
5. 2003
"Los colibris del navidad"
acrylic, 48"x36"
6. 2005
"La danza de la noche"
acrylic, 48"x36"
7. 2005
"Colibris ascendentes"
acrylic, 48"x36"
8. 2005
"La danza de las pasiones"
acrylic. 48"x36"
9. 2004
"Dance of Light"
acrylic, 48"x36"
1. 2005
"Guianan Cocks of the Rock"
acrylic, 22"x28"
4. 2006
"Tropical Swallows"
acrylic, 36".24"
5. 2004
"Scarlet Ibis"
acrylic, 36"x48"
"Three Quetzals"
acrylic, 12"x36"
1. 2005-2006
"Fairy Bluebirds"
acrylic, 36"x24"
2. 2005-2006
"Maroon Orioles"
acrylic, 36"x24"
3. 2005-2006
"European Bee-Eaters"
acrylic, 22"x28"
4. 2005-2006
"Lilac-Breasted Rollers"
acrylic, 22"x28"
5. 2006
"Splendid Glossy Starlings"
acrylic, 36"x24"
7. 2007
"Africa"
acrylic, 12"x36"
9. 2008
"Golden-Winged Sunbirds"
acrylic, "12" x 36"
4. 2006
"Paradise Tanagers"
acrylic, 11"x14"
Like wealthy women
attended by gigolos
beneath swaying palms
5. 2007
"Green-Headed Tanagers"
acrylic, 11"x14"
Only the tall trees
can speak of the beauty
of their gaudy colours
10. 2004
"Honeycreepers"
acrylic, 5"x7" each
Commission, nfs
9. 2004
"Sapphire Golden-Tails"
acrylic, 11"x14"
They move with delight
lost among the red flowers
of deepest longing
10. 2004
"Honeycreepers"
acrylic, 5"x7" each
11. 2004
"Quetzals"
acrylic, 12"x6"
13. 2004
"Gouldian Finches"
acrylic, 11"x14"
In Australia
their colours shine like the sun
they are only birds
1. 2000
"Swallow Tanagers"
acrylic, 30"x30"
2. 1998
"Deconstruction #1"
acrylic, 48"x36"
3. 1998
"Deconstrucion #2
acrylic, 48"x36"
4. 2002
"Chalice"
acrylic, 48"x36"
5. 2002
"The End of Winter"
acrylic, 48"x36"
6. 1995-1999
'Celebes Bearded Bee-Eaters"
acrylic, 48"x36"
7. 1995-1999
"Golden-Breasted Starlings"
acrylic, 48"x36"
8. 2000
"Egrets"
acrylic, 48"x36"
9. 1995-2001
"Carmine Bee-Eaters"
acrylic, 48"x36"
2. 2006
"Forest Scape"
acrylic, 16"x20"
SO i SENT AN E-MAIL TO ONE OF THEIR ART CRITICS EXPLAINING TO HER MY OWN POSITION AND EXPERIENCE ON THIS CONCEPT AS A VISUAL ARTIST. I MENTIONED TO HER THAT BEFORE JUMPING TO SUCH RIDICULOUS CONCLUSIONS SHE MIGHT CONSIDER THAT THE ARTIST AS AN INDIVIDUAL ONLY CAME INTO VOGUE IN THE LAST 150 YEARS OR SO, BEGINNING WITH THE IMPRESSIONISTS IN FRANCE...
BEFORE THEN, ARTISTS TENDED TO WORK MORE AS GROUPS AND COLLECTIVES WELL-INTEGRATED INTO THE COMMUNITY. YES WE HAVE OUR FAMOUS TITANS SUCH AS GIOTTO, MICHELANGELO, CARRAVAGGIO, DUHRER, REMBRANDT, TO NAME A FEW, BUT ALL Of THESE MEN HAD PAID ASSISTANTS AND STUDENTS WHO DID MUCH OF THEIR PAINTING FOR THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T GET ANY CREDIT FOR THEIR EFFORTS. SO THEN WHAT WOULD THIS KIND OF APPROACH POSSIBLY HAVE TO DO WITH SEXUAL DISPLAY, WHICH IS IN ITSELF A VERY INDIVIDUAL AND (I HOPE) PRIVATE ACT...?
SOLD
TO ME IT SEEMS LUDICROUS THAT OUR CRO-MAGNON ANCESTORS PAINTING BENEATH THE PYRHENEES WOULD BE DOING SO SIMPLY TO ANNOUNCE TO THE WOMEN, "HEY BABY, LETS SLIP BACK TO MY CAVE AND LOOK AT SOME OF MY ANIMAL PAINTINGS". WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THESE WONDROUS RENDITIONS WERE LIKELY USED COMMUNALLY AS PART OF THEIR RITUAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES HOW COULD ANY RESPONSIBLE JOURNALIST POSSIBLY CONFER SUCH NONSENSE ONTO THEIR MOTIVES...!
5. 2004
"Azaleas #1"
Acrylic, 8"X10"
AND SO IT HAS BEEN OVER THE MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF OUR EXISTENCE UPON THIS EARTH AND OUR COMPLEX CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AS HUMAN BEINGS. THE ARTIST AS TORMENTED AND ROMANTIC INDIVIDUAL HAS ONLY RECENTLY COME INTO VOGUE. I SEE THIS AS A SYMPTOM OF THE KIND OF DYSFUNCTIONAL INDIVIDUALISM THAT HAS COME TO PERMEATE OUR SOCIETY...
6. 2003
"Trees of Love"
Acrylic, 8"X10"
 SO, IN CONCLUSION, DON'T EXPECT THIS ARTIST TO CUT OFF HIS EAR FOR ANYBODY...!  "Monteverde #1" Acrylic, 10"X8"  "Monteverde #2" Acrylic, 10"X8" BY THE WAY, SHE DIDN'T ANSWER MY E-MAIL.  More recently, this same art critic raised quite a balleyhoo about the celebrated Canadian wildlife artist, Robert Bateman. She claimed, while reviewing a exhibit of his, that Mr. Bateman's art is too technically precise to be considered as art. Illustration maybe, but certainly not art. She also commented that when she heard one gentleman at this show suggesting that here at last he could enjoy looking at "real art" this critic wanted to kick him down the stairs.  "Azaleas #3" Acrylic, 10"X8" Now I don't wish to use my webpage as a forum of discussion on the merits or demerits of other artists as this would be discourteous of me. However, as an artist who paints birds and landscapes, albeit quite differently from Mr. Bateman, whatever anyone's opinion of the artistic value of his work, his technical mastery is breathtaking, and I think some artists might even be a bit envious.  "Monteverede #3" Acrylic, 10"X8" I don't have the technical skill to imitate Robert Bateman's art. And if I tried it would no longer be my art but something else altogether.  "Mountains of Central America" Acrylic, 12"X10" Perhaps I could donate a percentage of my art sales to keep this poor unhappy art critic supplied with Prozac?  "Monteverede #4" Acrylic, 10"X8" And, by the way...  "Azaleas # 4" Acrylic, 10"X8" ...She still hasn't answered my e-mail!  "Sky and Clouds" Acrylic, 10"X8"  "The Tall Tree" acrylic, 10"X12" 
1. 2007
"Great Big Flaming Pansy"
acrylic, 12"x12"
2. 2007
"Lotus"
acrylic, 12"x12"
      
(new and improved version)
3. Golden Swallowtail
acrylic, 18"x18"
On the Humanity of the Artist
 First, a word about Stendahl Syndrome. Stendahl was a French novelist who lived during the first half of the nineteenth century. He is particularly famous for his novel “The Scarlet and the Black.” In the 1830’s Stendahl went on a lengthy tour of Italy, where he spent many hours viewing the art treasures of Venice, Florence and the Vatican. The splendour, power and beauty of what he saw—the very mother-lode of the visual, aesthetic genius of Western Civilization—overwhelmed him, leaving him in a state of nervous and emotional exhaustion that left him at times bed-ridden for months afterward. In the words of the singer, Alison Moyer, “I grow weak in the presence of beauty.” When the sheer beauty and power of a work of visual art totally overpowers us, leaving us weak and breathless, then we are said to be suffering from “Stendahl Syndrome.” We are Weak in the Presence of Beauty.  That which an artist creates, or co-creates with Divine Participation, can be very strong, powerful. Overwhelming. It may not match the new drapes, and it might not look good over the sofa-—in fact, if it’s really art, then it’s more than likely going to dominate and become the visual focus of whichever room it’s put in. The very nature of art is to reflect and capture the very essence of our collective humanity. It is rather like a time capsule that captures and portrays the truth, our truth as a people, a culture, a point in time and space. Without attempting to, art tells our story. It is a mirror in which we can look at ourselves, our present, past and future—it catalogues our collective unconscious, it documents our struggles, our ideals, our failures, our strengths, and our aspirations. It shows forth the Divine Reality that is infused in all of us, and in all creation. I think here of the concept of treasure in earthen vessels. Artists are often very ordinary people to look upon. Some of us are quite dysfunctional. I don’t think that too many artists are going to be particularly glamourous, or powerful or influential in political affairs. We are less than likely to be great social, economic or political successes. Even such legends as Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso were plain-looking to the point of being butt-ugly, as well as being rather socially-dyslexic, but they were widely lionized and often surrounded by adoring groupies, mistresses and admirers, some of whom were astonishingly good-looking and glamourous people themselves. As successful artists, the power that these men had over people is legendary.  Jeanne Calment, whose claim to fame was to have been one of the oldest people on record, was personally acquainted with Vincent Van Gogh. She died in 1996 at the age of 121. Jeanne Calment was born in 1875, the same year as Carl Jung, and lived most of her life in southern France. When she was a young woman, Van Gogh used to buy his canvasses in her husband’s shop. She did not remember Vincent for his Sunflowers, nor for his Irises, which, less than one hundred years after his death was purchased for more than 90 million dollars. In fact, she didn’t appear to really like any of his art at all. She said that she didn’t like him, that he was a weirdo who didn’t say anything of consequence, that he was dirty and smelled bad. She thought of him as a complete loser. Even at the age of 121 she was heard to dismiss Vincent Van Gogh as “the Nut from Arles.” I, myself, have known a number of very ordinary, even contemptible-looking artists, some of who are hygienically-challenged, who have rendered some breath-taking masterpieces of visual art. Some I have even referred to as being quite brilliant as artists, but very mistaken as human beings. And the same has also been said about me. My concern here is that we often allow our appreciation of the art to eclipse our appreciation of the humanity of the artist. Such is our collective self-hatred. Here in North America, a lot of us don’t even have a developed awareness of the pivotal importance of art and the artist. Even while we’re being dazzled by it we still dismiss art as a frill, as decoration, as a hobby, and it had better match the new drapes or we are not going to shell out for it. Or we’d rather have a naughty weekend at Whistler, or maybe spend the money on a new SUV. Or we might be so busy struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table that we couldn’t afford good art no matter how much we might want it.  Please don’t ask me why I paint birds. I don’t know, and therefore I cannot tell you. And don’t ask me why I paint. I still haven’t figured it out. It is a mystery to me. I pursue art as an act of obedience, my delayed response to what I perceive as an authentic call from God. Therefore, it must be of value. I am self-taught, so to speak. I can’t afford to go to art school. Should I, if the opportunity arises? I really don’t know. I began painting some ten years ago. After several years of making some rather interesting doodles with felts, pastels and pencil crayons, a painter whom I greatly respected told me it was time for me to start painting seriously. I balked, and he told me “Don’t argue with me. Do it.” So, I did. It was like waking out of a prolonged coma. I was finally acknowledging, and giving form to the call that God has always had on my life. Unfortunately, the Christian community has been rather late in acknowledging art as a legitimate calling for Christians. Therefore I have not had a lot of support. The need to pursue and develop my craft as a visual artist did a lot to financially compromise me. The cost of materials and the need to forgo full-time employment in order to have sufficient time and energy to paint has helped guarantee me a life of poverty. There have been other factors as well. Neo-conservative governments, along with neo-liberal economics and free-market capitalism have never been friendly towards the arts and humanities. Cuts in health-care and social services spending made it increasingly difficult for me to remain remuneratively employed. There weren’t, and still aren’t, a lot of people buying my paintings. Life became harder and harder. Getting social assistance became a frightening and Kafka-esque ordeal. I eventually was homeless. Fortunately, there were enough people around to help me with couch-surfing accommodations, for a while, anyway. By this time I was already too confused and traumatized to access the kind of help that I was needing. At least I was still able to paint. Then things really began to get scary. People, particularly Christians, began to turn on me. They were often happy to store, and hang on their walls, my paintings, but they did not want to accommodate the artist, not even with the intention of allowing me sufficient time and resources for getting back on my feet.  It isn’t simply the art produced by the artist that is precious and valuable. It is the artist himself. It isn’t just the gold on the altar that is sacred, but the altar and the gold, and the temple combined. And yet, we are majorly inclined to dismiss, or entirely forget the artist while we salivate over his creation. This is also a reflection on how we often treat God: we enjoy and revel in his manifold gifts and blessing, while we virtually forget where these things proceed from. Or, at best, we give him lip-service, and little else. So it is with the artist. Whatever limited value our society might place on the visual arts, it values far less its artists. Such has also been my experience with our welfare system. My financial aid worker, on learning that I am a visual artist, became particularly nasty and hostile towards me. Even though I was more than fulfilling my obligations in seeking remunerative employment, she relentlessly pressured and harassed me, on the basis of my being an artist. Unless you are already well-known, well-represented and making tonnes of money at it, if you are an artist, don’t expect any recognition or respect, on any level. You will be scorned as a pretentious wannabe who really doesn’t want to work for a living. Because your vocation is art, unless you have a parallel vocation that can also accommodate your art, you are going to have a difficult time staying gainfully employed, making ends meet, and having sufficient time and disposable income with which to continue turning out creditable works of art. I would like to add here that impoverished artists often have the worst time networking with good galleries and art dealers. They expect that only materials of the highest quality—that is to say, expensive—will be acceptable in any paintings that they would want to hang in their galleries. Because our society is so obsessed with money, marketing, and economic viability, there is very little respect, and considerable contempt for artists. Recently, we have been horrified by news reports of the mass lootings of archeological and art treasures in Iraq since the U. S. invasion. However, I think that it is also true that here in Canada we are experiencing a kind of passive looting of our cultural heritage due to the lack of respect and support that our artists are given.  As an artist I do not create art for myself alone. However solitary my journey, the fruit of labour is not mine alone. It belongs to everyone. It is a community trust. When you purchase one of my paintings, it still never becomes entirely your own. It still belongs to me, the artist, and it still belongs to the community. By taking possession of it, you are keeping it safe for future generations, and by paying me a reasonable sum of money, you are honouring the labour that has gone into it, as well as helping to guarantee my future survival and well-being. Like a lot of artists, I am constitutionally unable to cope well with the current pressure and competition for finding and securing gainful employment.... I am not psychologically built to compete well. I am not an Alpha Male, neither am I a Type A. Because I do not fit the criteria for market place competition, I have been sidelined and marginalized. Without adequate community support, I have had to endure a life of poverty and the ongoing risk and fear of homelessness, all this because we live under a market economy which is hostile to everything that cannot be rendered into dollar values, particularly art. We live in a society that tolerates and accepts, as a trade off for living in a free-market, such human-rights catastrophes as legislated poverty and homelessness. By our passive acceptance of this kind of abuse, we are squandering an enormous quantity of human potential We are silently telling God through our inaction, that some are worthier than others, and that some are trash and refuse not worthy of the human dignity that he has bestowed on us all. It isn’t merely noblesse oblige that should compel us to oppose this trend of selfish indifference, but our Christian obligation to invest in the future well-being of our society, our duty to take redemptive action, our call to live as salt and light.  Anyway, I’m not just going to carp and grouse here. I have compiled here a community wish list for supporting and sustaining the struggling artist. I think that it begins with our perceptions and attitudes. We need to ask ourselves if we really do value art as a valid contribution and essential element to our human, social and cultural well-being. Are we prepared to view the artist and art as being of equal value, say, to the contributions of doctors, lawyers, teachers, or even market analysts? Regardless of whether or not the artist’s work is hanging in prestigious galleries, and even if the said artist has never successfully sold any of his work in his life? What is the quality of our personal and collective discipleship as Christians. How centred on Christ are we? Are our lives in right-relation to him? Do we see ourselves, and all our possessions as being his? We don't really own anything, but almost anything can own us. To whom do we owe our allegiance? Do we use the word “stewardship” as a justification for being selfish and acquisitive, or do we really try to live as though everything that we have belongs truly and exclusively to God and to his people? It isn’t that God doesn’t want us to have money or nice things. He just doesn’t want us to keep them. Whatever we have, is given to us by God in trust. In response to His great love for us, how committed are we to social justice? As our society continues to prostitute us in the name of the free market, what are we prepared to do in order to address the social fall-out of increased poverty, social marginalization and homelessness? This is also affecting artists. First of all, I would like to see groups and collectives of Christians gathering together in fervent prayer, on a regular basis, in intercession for the human casualties of this government’s destructive social policy. Prayer is powerful, and when it is conducted in a spirit of repentance, reconciliation, and adoration, its sweep can be phenomenal. On this base, two parallel courses of action need to be conducted simultaneously: we have to succinctly and prophetically address our governments, and tell them that the situation is unacceptable, and that they have to start restoring the social programs that they have destroyed in the name of market capitalism. We also have to start taking direct action, in creating alternative refuges and havens for those who have become homeless and otherwise disadvantaged. The reason that I am emphasizing this is very simple: no artist can be realistically expected to pursue his vocation without having the basic necessities of shelter, food, clothing and materials guaranteed.  Secondly, there is a need to ensure the support and patronage of the artists among us. If you recognize the merit of our work, then please also recognize our humanity.... Forget about art as a market value, and focus on helping to keep us artists alive and well enough so that we can continue to beautify your lives. This could involve a community “adoption” of some of us, purchasing and commissioning our work, and assisting us towards such employment opportunities as can allow us to be self-supporting while still having sufficient time and energy for our art. It could also involve regularly assisting us in keeping our rent and bills paid on time, and assuring us of a steady availability of materials to work with. It could also involve providing us with housing, and/or studio space. Thirdly, what can we do to advocate for the artist? How can we help her to network with galleries, clients and patrons. Perhaps there are some actual, or potential, agents among us who would be able to help. I am glad to say that my personal experience of hardship and disappointment has done nothing to prevent me from continuing to paint. For me, this is a miracle, and God has always seen that I have had sufficient materials and inspiration to work with. In some ways, painting has become for me an act of defiance against every single force, visible and invisible that has tried to hobble me. It is an act of resistance, it is a celebration and the determination to celebrate and to continue to affirm life and the beauty of God’s creation in the face of the death culture in which we live. As long as God lives, I can, and as long as he wills, I shall.  In conclusion, I would like to quote these words from the Book of Acts: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time, those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”  |
Absolutely Amazing!
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