Rowley Gallery Blog
The kernel of the idea to create my own tarot deck developed in the summer of 2024. I had been to see an enthralling exhibition of the work of Leonora Carrington, the British/Mexican surrealist artist, at the beautiful Newlands House Gallery in Sussex. Continue reading “The Tarot Of British Birds”
Early Morning In Mukundgarh
I was invited to stay in an old merchant’s house in Mukundgarh, in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan and I was asked to make paintings of the house and the town and also a map to show where this extraordinary place is situated. Continue reading “A Month In Mukundgarh”
On Saturday 2nd March we opened a new window display of pictures by Jonathan Gibbs, and despite our usual habit of not having a launch party, Jonathan promised to bring his guitar along, so how could we refuse. He also produced these gorgeous invitation cards. Please call in if you’re passing. Go out of your way if you’re not. We’d love to see you. Continue reading “Paintings From My Shed”
“so now we see the cat is a shadow of the Virgin Mary. It is that part of the female nature that the Virgin Mary did not represent but would belong to a complete image of the feminine“
Marie-Louse Von Franz
The principle driving forces behind creating this new body of work were two interlocking books, Psychology and Alchemy by Carl Jung and The Cat by Marie-Louise Von Franz.
Drawing from these two sources created a framework from which I could project various scenes and scenarios.
There are seven stages of spiritual alchemy; if a person can complete them, it is thought that they will reach an enlightened form of consciousness. There are parallels here to Buddhism and Hinduism. Continue reading “The Cat Becomes A Fountain & Other Stories”
We’ve a windowful of wonderful engravings from Beatrice Forshall for June and July. Many were used to illustrate her new book, a glorious celebration of life on Earth and a poignant reminder of the life we’ve extinguished. Continue reading “The Book Of Vanishing Species”
Bathed In Sound is a song about trying to imagine myself as a whale floating in the ocean, immersed in a liquid medium full of sound, surrounded by plankton and the immense wild wetness of the ocean. Continue reading “Bathed In Sound”
The filmmaker Christian Cargill presents a loving portrait of the Welsh shepherd Wilf Davies, who works his farm alone, eats the same meal every day, and has never left his valley.
This is the most beautiful film. I posted it here five years ago but it had disappeared, so catch it now while you can, before it goes again. It’s a film unlike any other. Time passes slowly from one life to another. From goatherd to goat to tree to charcoal.
We each have four successive lives within ourselves; each one contained within the others. We are mineral; we are made of salt, water and organic matter. We are vegetable; like plants we breathe, reproduce and nourish ourselves. We are animal; we have imagination, memory and knowledge of the outside world. In the end we are rational beings; we possess will and reason. We each have four distinct lives within ourselves… and so we must discover ourselves four times.
Quietly, patiently, trees endure. They are the oldest living beings we come to know during our time on earth, living bridges into our planet’s expansive past.
Follow a group of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers to the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, as they explore an ancient story written in rings.