This is a small painting on paper, only 4″ by 5″, that I immediately began calling Uncharted as soon as the final stroke fell into place. The way the path ends at the edge of the field in the foreground and the way the central figure stood there brought to mind someone coming to a point in their life, their journey, who realizes they are at a point and place they have never encountered before nor even been warned of by others. They want to move forward, they know they must move ahead but they are filled with fears and doubts. Second guessing.
I think most people try to avoid ever coming to such a place in their lives. Most of us follow templates set down by many generation before us which attempt to create a stable and safe path for us to journey down.
The known. Familiar territory.
But for some, that path soon comes to an end and they must venture forward using their own instincts, making their own way ahead if they can ever expect to find satisfaction with their existence here.
Again, it’s a scary route and not one easily chosen. But for those who seek something that fulfills the inner aspects of themselves, it is the only way. In a way I feel like I’m describing the route that the shamans of some natives tribes around world take in finding their spiritual awakening and maybe that is akin to the journey of many other seemingly normal people in other cultures who seek those intangibles that lay off the known map that we usually folllow.
I’m not really sure. That is uncharted territory for me but I am gratified that this simple, small piece inspires a little more thought.
Redtree Times 