Evolution

 

"Evolution", 70x100cm, 2020, oil on canvas on panel, private collection

 

Eve plucked the apple after Satan talked her into doing so. Easily she persuaded her Adam to too take a bite, and both ended up losing paradise. 

People who ruin the world for everyone rarely lack the courage to be a daredevil. But how would the story have evolved had Eve possessed the insight and wisdom to see through the trap of naiveté?

Evil is in essence not too hard to beat. Fools, on the other hand (and who does not come to this world a fool?), often express all the ambition, conviction, courage, persistence, stubbornness, blindness and heroism a human can possibly possess, making them much harder to beat than the devil himself.

Wasted virtue is a grave sin. This is the tragedy of being human.

 

I do hope everyone will take this "Eve" as an role-model rather than her Biblical counterpart. 

 

This painting was originally concieved and painted in 2014, after which it would be revised two times.

 

 

A piece of canvas was glued to a wood panel, and coated with a traditional chalk gesso, tinted with Indian red. The underpainting was done in burnt umber. 

 

 

 

Next, a piambura was applied to map out the light and dark areas. 

Next, the painting was finished. I wasn't happy with the original result however and re-did certain parts in 2015, but still felt something was off, though I could not put my finger on it. In 2020 I made a final adjustment that brought foreground, midfield and background finally together. Retouches revolved mainly around giving the tree trunk the proper tonal value, and making the sky around the snake a touch brighter.

Patience

"Patience", Wim Van Aalst, 90x122cm, oil on panel

This work was inspired by an online post of my friend Tad Spurgeon, who was at the time struggling his way through numerous hold-ups and delays while tring to get his book Living Craft published in hardcover.  I'm paraphrasing, but he more or less said the following: "There never seems to be enough patience at hand in life for what is required by the next step."

Tad remained very conscious of the phenomenon throughout the process, and very consciously decided to remain patient as he was dealing with delay after delay, phonecall after phonecall. A concerted, willfull effort dissipated the apparent paucity of patience. In the end, my friend managed to have a fine hardcover edition ready without losing his patience once, which impressed me greatly.

Life does have enough patience in store to fill the cup of what is required for the day, but it needs a strong will. It's a message I'd like to share with the world through this piece of art.
Thanks to Tad.

Unnecessary Death

"Unnecessary Death", Wim Van Aalst, 110x145 cm, oil on panel

Here, a classical pièta theme is used to express a comtemporary drama: a grieving mother holds her daughter's body, who was murdered by the Chinese autorities because of her belief.

Near her hand rests an origami flower with the chinese characters “zhen”, “shan” and “ren” (truthfulness, benevolence, forbearance), the basic tenets of Falun Gong, a Buddhist selfdiscipline that was banned in China in 1999 when the number of its practitioners had begun to exceed that of Communist Party members.

From one day to the next, 100 million people across China became target of state persecution at the orders of tyrant Jiang Zemin. With too much blood on their hands, Party officials sealed their own regime's fate while they cling to their power hoping to keep the facts of their horrible crimes hidden from the world. 
 

Hope

"Hope", oil on dibond, 70x89cm

Hope

Crawled onto a crumbling peak

Abyss ahead, abyss beneath

Dark billowing clouds bespeak

Doom's intent on my defeat

A bitter, angry, frightened heart

Puny, makes too weak a case

Tis just Fate dealing a card

I acknowledge with light-hearted grace

For who decides how I'm to feel?

Strangling demons by bare hand

Breaking fear's fervor's rotting seal

Thus tribulations sift the sand

Mine's the choice! Through the needle's eye!

Unconditional promise of content

A shimm'ring pierced through the sky

As doom to sudden luck was bent

 - Wim Van Aalst