This series was begun in 1994, during my attendance of the Cornish College of Fine Arts illustration program. From the outset I wanted to create a series of paintings based on the mysticism of the Hebrew Tree of Life and Kabalah. During my formative years I studied the Kabalah constantly and this led to the idea of painting one year long pieces that corresponded to the ascension through the spheres of the Tree of Life. The ultimate purpose being a documentation of my own life, year by year. It would not only be a record of the span of time but would also allow me to understand the progression upwards through the Tree with the grounding of one year of inquiry and meditation on each sphere.
I am by no means an expert or authority on this subject, I make no claims to be. The subjects and themes in these works were developed from my personal understanding of the Tree of Life and the energy or powers of the specific spheres.
My approach was very elemental and planetary. Many potential, official, associations were not relevant to the purpose of the series. Each piece took about one year to complete. The exceptions are 'Decosa's Hexaenoic Acid', which took two years and the final three pieces. 'Force' and 'Form' are full sized doors and took shape following a dream I had about a golden temple in the desert being guarded by two giant, black spirits. The archetypal mother and father being barriers to the divine. Protecting it from me and theoretically me from it. These paintings were done simultaneously and took about four years to complete, I needed to transform my perception of these spirits to one of beauty to fully grasp those spheres of the universe and be able to move forward. The final piece, at the crown, is 'Seed - The Magma Crown'. This is a full sized aluminum coffin that is still in progress after 7 years. Technically the series is not complete but other projects have taken precedence and in some way I am hesitant to complete work on the coffin that will probably be my own!
' ... and Hades Followed Close Behind', which was a commissioned painting for the second Drawn and Quartered album. The sphere I was entering was Severity and the band told me to paint whatever I wanted. It was serendipitous timing and the piece fulfilled its dual mission perfectly. Three other completed works from this series were used as album cover art as well.