I will be creating a separate post in the future that will go into detail about my process of creating color cyphers, but for now this piece is an example of how to use a color cypher. These are created uniquely for each painting, based on the colors that you choose to represent the 26 letters of the alphabet. I find them very satisfying to create and use because they allow a piece of art to contain quite a large amount of text without the intrusion of the any actual letters. You can also hide text in places that aren't so obvious, so if you want to create a little treasure hunt for the advanced viewer, this is probably one of the best ways to go about it.
Now to the painting:
"The Nature of Self"
69" x 60" Oil, Gold Leaf on Canvas, 2012
The two men on the side represent physical manifestations of thoughts created from the central figure, all the figures are self portraits which is meant to emphasize the concept of witnessing an act that is internal and personal in nature. the man on the left is pouring water, an act of healing. The man on the right is holding a candle flame up to the figure, an act of destruction. On the chests of the two outer figures are the alchemical symbols for elemental and spiritual fire, air, earth, and water. There is also a visual cross created in the composition with air being at the top, represented by feathers that are located around the golden cypher ball. The golden cypher ball represents the spiritual realm, earth below being the iron ball below the central figures feet, fire represented by the figure on the right with the candle, and water represented by the figure on the left pouring water. When straight lines are drawn to connect the elements together they form a cross that meets at the heart of the central figure which, in many esoteric forms of religion, is where man prays or connects with spiritual source. There is a cypher at the top, the golden ball with the ring of colors, 26 different colors for every letter of the english language. The scroll contains a message which when decoded using the cypher reads "acts created within the self have no boundaries" - another way to say thoughts, wills, and emotions inside you are being permeated to the physical universe outside your body.
Thanks for watching, more to come soon!