A theme I seem to return to again and again in my paintings is the image of a woman asleep. There is a long tradition in the history of art of a woman sleeping so I am not the first or last artist to be attracted to this subject. Perhaps it's because when you gaze upon someone asleep the potential for looking into their mind, their dreams, their virtual reality is so tempting and inspiring. Do they dream of the ocean, or the stars, or the face in the moon, of love, or perhaps of horses or herons? Hopefully all the dreams are beautiful with few nightmares.
Some of my recent Sleeping Women paintings:
The Dreaming of Horses theme grew from having frequent bad dreams or "nightmares" over the past few years. When I would wake up anxious and fearful, I would try to focus on what I would rather be dreaming of- And I decided I would always rather be dreaming of horses.
I love the Richard Diebenkorn painting "Sleeping Woman" from 1961 so I decided to depict that painting on the wall and mirror it in the sleeping woman on the sofa in the painting below.
"I'd rather be Dreaming of Horses" 24" x 24", oil on linen
The next Dreaming of Horses was done for a friend who loves horses. That is her horse Piper peering in the door at her and gently touching her hair with his soft muzzle. And her beagle Riley sleeping near by. Have you ever noticed that you sleep more deeply with your dog or cat in the room?
I'd rather be Dreaming of Horses II, 24" x 30" oil on linen
A painting I did a couple years ago- A woman has come home from work, had a sip of wine and dozed off on her sofa exhausted. She had waited all day for the moment when she could feel
safe and unthreatened in the company of her cats. In her dreams her cats have become her guardians and stand over her like protective angels while she sleeps deeply and peacefully.
"Shine Theory", oil on linen, 50" x 50"
And another woman asleep is Henrietta. It was the middle of winter, cold and bleak. Henrietta was looking at a photo of her favorite painting by Matisse called "Still Life with Sleeping Woman" and started dreaming about a warm climate, the sea, a breeze, when two beautiful great blue herons materialized and flew through the open window. Henrietta kept on dreaming...
"Henrietta and the Herons", oil on linen, 24" x 30"
And my most recent sleeping woman painting... She wondered why she always felt a little fuzzy
when she woke up from an afternoon nap.
"Afternoon Nap", oil on linen, 30" x 40"
And one more that has a lot of meaning for me personally and which has a poem that accompanies it.
"We are just passing through like the river..." oil on linen, 36" x 48"
He came to me in the night
two weeks after he departed this earth
I heard him climbing the stairs
which he had not done for years
I awoke and could see his silhouette on the landing
back lit by the hall light
his big strong head and shoulders monumental
I got out of bed and tiptoed to him
and sat down
He leaned against me and spoke in a deep baritone
which I always imagined he would have
I am sorry I left without explaining
But you shouldn’t grieve for me
We all know we will be leaving and moving to our next life
Who is We? I asked, pressing my forehead against his
The Animals, he said.
We exist before we come to earth and we exist after we depart
We learn while we are there-
about human frailties and strengths
about cruelty and kindness
and we give selfless love to those who care for us, to those who need us
Then we get our next assignment
and we depart
So please don’t grieve for me, you see
We are all just passing through like the river.
Hope you enjoy them.
Here are some of the images of the wonderful paintings referenced in this post and others that inspire me.
Matisse "Still life and Sleeping woman"
Diebenkorn "Sleeping Woman"
Balthus "The Dream"
Rousseau "Sleeping Gypsy"
Girogione "Sleeping Venus"
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