The Promise

Mixed media on paper, 11″ x 15″

The earliest evidence of a veneration of the deer is seen in the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. In El Juyo, in northern Spain… a deer was buried fourteen thousand years ago in a hole shaped like an egg, covered with red ochre and violet, orange, or reddish pieces of clay, deer horns, and other objects.
Marina Gimbutas,‘Civilizations of the Goddess’

This prehistoric site description formed the basis for ‘The Promise’. The deep, the depths, beneath the beneath… this work attempts to contrast energy, beauty and intensity. Inside the egg under the earth, the fawn rests in the vessel of regeneration and transformation. The stars in the sky correspond to the spots on the fawn – visually and symbolically. The layers are also linked by color, as the red background in the center corresponds to the red fish beneath. The triangle symbolizes the female. The bottom layer indicates the deepest level of consciousness; the archetypal depths. This drawing was rendered in both colored pencils and oil pastels. This combination results in bright saturated colors and the potential for both fine details and larger areas of textural and solid color. The deer is at peace while transitioning from one life to the next.