The people that know me, know that I move a lot and I often step out into the unknown.
Over the years I did several paintings with cars and these past few weeks I have revisited the theme. A few people contacted me and said they see I’m restless and a good friend called and said she saw a lot of suitcases and asked if I’m moving again!
Usually, my paintings contain some aspect of my life therefore I can understand that they got to that conclusion.
Chapter 1:
I did this painting while I was busy packing to move in 2020.
I was living in a loghouse next to the river in Vaaloewer, featuring in this painting, the house I lived in, Birdhaven No 10, the blue truck stood neglected in my street.
The swallow is symbolic, both for the street name as well as symbolic for migration. Read more about my Chapter 1 painting here.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
Neale Donald Walsch
“Ascending”:
Time to step out into the unknown…
This painting is about courage.
I chose to put the Bumblebee in the foreground of the painting, engineers have proven that Bumblebees are not supposed to be able to fly if you compare the size of their wings with the weight and size of their bodies, therefore the Bumblebee becomes a strong symbol in this story as anything is possible if you set your mind to it!
The bee is the symbol of hard work, commitment and resilience, they are companions you have to take with you on your way to your breakthrough.
The aeroplane, descending, a vehicle to take you on your way.
You, grounded but not stranded, more than ready to take off.
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful, yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
Winston Churchill
Road Trip:
The above paintings were inspired by a month-long road trip I did with my daughters, my Nissan Levina is in the middle and I think you can guess my love for crows.
This was a playful and fun range capturing the excitement of the trip.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
-Walt Disney-
Mercedes:
Mercedes-Benz: “The Best or Nothing”
Two of these Mercedes paintings below were orders by clients.
“Winged Mercedes”
This is a painting I did a few years ago.
I came up with the idea of the flying Mercedes painting while I was on the road on a marketing trip, I remember looking in the mirror at the road I “left behind” and I thought of how we visit so many places, we have so many encounters with people and we leave bits and pieces of us behind everywhere we go, therefore the row of cut-out figures standing between the trees.
Volkswagen:
The all time classic…
The Volkswagen, a Kombi or a Beetle, also known as the Volla, almost everybody have a story to tell or at least a connection with somebody who drove one at some stage in their lives.
Being one of 5 children, we had to drive a car with enough space, and that was a blue Kombi.
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”
-Erol Ozan-
Trust the mystery:
“Owls represent wisdom, knowledge, change, transformation, intuitive development, and trusting the mystery. They are tied to the spiritual symbolism of “death” which brings about new beginnings with a higher understanding and evolved perspective. Owls can show up when you are being asked to listen to your intuition.”
-Unknown-
Above paintings are about the confusing process of ending a phase in your life, of working through emotions and challenges and entering a new phase, the end and beginning, whether it was a slow transition or abrupt, it becomes like intertwined confusion in your head and heart.
A play between harsh storms and moments of calm skies, ladders to climb, uprooting, breakthroughs and escape routes with yet more storms to concur.
Packing up and go, whether symbolically or physically.
In one painting, the paper crane is symbolic of healing, leading the way…in the other, the Owl plays that role.
Painting below also depicts mystery.
The “porthole”, hanging like a frame in the sky, an alternate reality.
The vibrant red Volkswagen Beetle and the dices makes this painting not only mysterious but in contrast, also playful.
“Our life is like a dice, which ever fall in varying combinations; no one form has man’s existence, but it is full of change.”
-Stobaeus-
Throwback:
Paintings I did a few years ago, all symbolic paintings.
We used to live on a farm when I was small and there was an old car without windows and wheels and we played in that car for hours at a time, taking imaginary trips, going to imaginary places, these paintings were all inspired by those memories.
Thank you for joining me on my road trip.
You can enter my gallery here: https://mariaankotzeart.co.za/product-category/original-fine-art/
May the roads you take be exciting and blessed.
Mariaan
