Zen
Available sizes:
8.5" x 11" open edition print (only at shows)
13" x 19" open edition print
17" x 28" signed and numbered, limited edition print (out of 250)
Want to purchase this artwork? Buy it directly from the artist at the following shows:
Chattacon
MidSouthCon
JordanCon
The Tennessee Renaissance Festival
LibertyCon
GenCon
Dragon*Con
Ohio Renaissance Festival
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About the Piece:
This is the ninth piece in my Gesture series, a series of works that use imagery of my own hands. I start with a basic concept, one that by definition is concise and easily understood. However, these concepts often are viewed differently by each of us, as our experiences and point of view greatly affect our interpretation and personal meaning of these ideas. From this simple concept, I use the images of hands to build upon the idea and make it my own.
This piece was a commission from a collector at GenCon. She is a masseuse and wanted to have an original Gesture drawing that was meaningful to both of us. To help inspire me, she offered to work on my shoulders at the show. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out all of the sounds around me at the convention. As I let me mind go, I pictured a still bath, steam rising up fogging the scene. Slowly a pair of hands, balled tightly together rise from the still waters. As they rise up, they unfold like flower petals. The hidden massage stones float from the palms, spinning around each other, forming the light and energy that fills the scene. Drops of water fall from the knuckles, striking the surface slowly spreading ripples among the still scene.
I immediately turned and explained my vision to her, and she was just as excited as I was. The title came to me right then, Zen. I do have to give credit though, going back I recognize the influences of Miyazaki's Spirited Away, partiularly the scene with the cleansing of the River Spirit.
The original is in the collection of Jayne Dobbs.
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About the Artist:
Paul and his brother Michael opened Aradani Studios in 2002, selling both their artwork and costuming as they travelled all across the US. Paul’s medium of choice is charcoal, a passion he discovered in college. He loves the fluidity of it, the ease of moving it across the page with a simple gesture, and on the flipside, the challenge of it, such a simple gesture can also erase hours of painstaking detail. Paul’s work has won numerous awards around the country, including the prestigious Chesley Award in 2006, for Best Monochrome Unpublished for his piece Nightmare. He currently resides in Nashville, TN, where he, his brother, and sister continue to expand and build their elf ear empire. You can see his artwork at http://paulbielaczyc.com/.
