Paintings 2022

Flouride is an inorganic, monatomic anion of flourine whose salts are typically odorless and white. Flouride containing compounds such as sodium flouride or sodium monofluorophosphate are used in topical and systemic flouride therapy for preventing tooth decay, but the exact biochemical reason is unknown. In some countries where large, centralized water systems are uncommon, flouride is delivered to the populace by flouridating table salt. Flouridation in water has its critics (water flouridation controversy). Flouridated toothpaste is in common use. Meta-analysis show the efficacy of 500ppm flouride in toothpastes. However, no beneficial effect can be detected when more than one flouride source is used for daily oral care.

The maximum safe daily consumption of flouride is considered to be 10mg/day for an adult (U.S) or 7mg/day (EU). Daily intakes of flouride can vary significantly according to the various sources of exposure. In areas where water is flouridated this can be expected to be a significant source of flouride, however flouride is also naturally present in virtually all foods and beverages at a wide range of concentrations.

Soluble flouride salts, of which sodium flouride is the most common, are toxic, and have resulted in both accidental and self-inflicted deaths from acute poisoning. Historically, most cases of acute flouride toxicity have followed accidental ingestion of sodium flouride based insecticides or rodenticides. Currently, in a advanced countries, most cases of flouride exposure are due to the ingestion of dental flouride products.

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A painting I did after an experience I had with two close friends. It was a late weekend evening and we'd gathered the three of us as we had many times afore. We grew idle sitting indoors and we took to the autumn fresh air and followed the allure of the dark forest. We walked and walked, upon paths any of us had walked before until we came to the road's end where a mighty bog stopped us in our tracks. We walked out into the marshlands until our shoes got wet and stood there in the silence for a moment until one of us let out a shout; it echoed across the wet ground and came bouncing off the forest on the other side and returned to us, amplified and empowered. We all began slinging out our voices and eventually came to song and as we began to sing for nobody but the trees and the empty space a radiant turquoise and green snake slithered across the sky - the heavens had heard our song and aurora borealis had come to dance across the night sky. We continued to sing and set our voices free and it seemed that the magnificent lightshow's glistening movement was at one with our voices, it felt as if we controlled it because when we quieted down the colours ebbed out into the clouds and when we took force and in unison belted out our hearts the colours came back stronger than before.

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The second djinn that appeared had clouds of pestilence behind it, with a malnourished face and a scraggly beard its hollowed out and empty eyes didn't come bearing anger, but a different destruction. The Covid pandemic was still ongoing and the djinn came bearing a robe of listlessness that almost glimmered with dried blood. On its forehead - a foreboding sign.

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Having dropped out of university and moved back home to my true north I experienced a sort of spiritual rebirth. One course I had recently finished was about the literary journey into the underworld and the return from there. In some ways it felt like I had undergone that journey myself. I started this painting at the very beginning of the Covid pandemic and I wouldn't finish it until about two years, towards the end of the pandemic's restrictions. It is a story about venturing into the realm of the dead and finding your way back home by following your northern star

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There is always a war raging within us, a war against ourselves, it is this inner conflict and schism that divides us into doing both good and bad. This struggle is eternal and it is seen both externally in the world and internally in us. Every person is capable of both good and bad, of both greatness and smallness. In all that darkness there is however a Light.

This painting was dark from the beginning and was left in very early stage for months until at long last the time had come to finish it. Once that time came it wasn't more than a day or two until it was complete. The finishing touches were so bold and strong, and the energy that washed over me was the same.

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When the ancient calls under the full-moon, the disciples with the ears to hear gather and anticipate it's arrival.

This one came in a period of time where I had developed a lot in painting, the techniques aren't unique to other things I do but the execution is flawless in expressing what I wanted expressed. Through meticulous effort this one was finished after a long time despite it's smaller size.

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Woman is no different than man, it is the same flesh, blood and bones and the same elements. Their placement however is a bit different, the expression of the same spirit in woman thus is slightly different from man's. Fundamentally they are alike, equally capable of the same things.

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Man is composed of the same elements as everything else, within him is fire, earth, water, air and spirit. Peeling back the social flesh of labels such as titles, ethnicity and religion it is not only a heap of flesh, blood and bones. He is an incredible vessel which carries the spirit and all of its elements inside of it.

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In a dense and crowded space, where the heat of flames is felt do they dance. With no water in sight do they dance, until they no longer can.

This painting was a new technique for me to do backgrounds, using an old can for a unique texture. I personally do not imagine that hell is only filled with miserable people and flames, some are quite happy and some are quite cold.

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A piece filled with strong emotions and a healthy dose of madness. It is an image that has been stuck with me for many years, and at long last it finally came upon the canvas. I have been plagued by intrusive thoughts for a very long time, one of those recurring ones is cutting off or removing one of my fingers - usually the ring finger. There was a time I suppose in my period of heartbreak and nihilism where I felt as if I would never find love, that I was unworthy of it in fact. Marriage was never a dream or a goal for me, and so I thought how apt to be married to nothing - bound to the void by a ring of air draped around no bone. These thoughts rarely occur to me now, and since I got that image out on the painting it seemed to have relieved me of its possessive qualities; it left my body to reside in the paint instead.

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Up above the watchers look down, supervising the living flesh - with wakeful eyes they tend to creation and guard the four cardinal directions. Some of them fell from grace, and crashed upon the mortal plane - overcome with a longing for the daughters of men, the sons of God had their wings of spirit broken and walked the earth forevermore. Watching the watchers is the all-seeing eye, whose judgement not even the judges can escape.

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The anti-christ which is the antithesis to Christ has been rumoured to be several people throughout history - for those with eyes to see the signs are everywhere and they are clear. Yet these prophets and self-proclaimed messiahs continue to be wrong, worried about the doomsday clock they rush themselves to their own doom. Like clockwork there is a time and place, however this clock is beyond any of our perception of understanding and in blind ignorance shall we be until it dawns clearly upon us. Therefore remain watchful because you will never know when it comes.

"No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows. So watch out and be ready! You don't know when the time will come." - Mark 13:32-33

False leaders and prophets have always been plentiful and there is no reason to suspect they will be going away anytime soon. Hollowed out and dark souls they try to mask themselves with light and wear it like makeup, with empty promises and strong charisma they lead astray even the most intelligent. A word to the wise is to stay clear from these leaders, find your way to solitude and connect to your personal saviour - the messiah who is inside of you right now, always has been and always will be. Then you won't have a need for these externalised, deceitful so-called leaders.

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Given and granted to those who have left an impression, whose presence have brightened the many days spent. Whose joy is contagious and spreads like the leaves in the autumn wind. Like stars -worlds apart the light travels silently.

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A frozen landscape lit up by a hungry moon. A reflection on thin ice, the evergreens have died and only the celestial bodies remain alive in this realm of permanent frost. Translucent hail down on the tundra's reign, where the fading of shades harken the terror of light. Hide where the rocks have remained, where worms have dug out their temples and worship in quiet meekness.

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It is what it is and that's what it is. D e d d e o d e d d e.

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For several years I have worked in a beautiful village in Norway located right by one of the magnificent fjords. This fjord carries with it stories and relics - some made of wood. I decided to one summer gather several pieces of this driftwood and paint on it. The natural wood offered unique textures and patterns already visible in the wood, it was a very enjoyable material to work with because of this. For me it became easier to see where the painting wanted to go. Each crack and curve of the wood itself adding to the whole picture.

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Sometimes we get stuck and at other times we just feel stuck. First you have to figure out which one it is. If you're actually stuck your next move is to remove and overcome any obstacles which may be keeping you trapped. If you know you're stuck you must know where and what is keeping you stuck. Consider your next move carefully. However if you just feel stuck there are other things to do.

What you might need is rest, simply letting go is sometimes the best way. You might think you're going under the water and that's why you're struggling, but you will soon find if you release that you will indeed float peacefully. Look back and remind yourself of where you've been and remember that you've felt stuck before, but still you've moved. You've washed ashore now on a different beach than from the one you entered into the water. Progress may be slow but it does not equal stagnation. Remember that when you plant a seed for the first weeks you will see no progress, you just have to have faith and keep watering it until one day it will break out from the darkness of the soil and emerge as a beautiful flower. Be diligent and patient, with everyone including yourself.

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This piece took a long time to be finished, the background was finished very early on and I was very happy with it. The foreground was more difficult however. The moon is on the rise in a dark and cool summer's night, leaning against the fig tree a figure watches out across the landscape - contemplating the future and the nature of the human soul.

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The joker's a smoker, and from the ashes dances a woman in the smoke; she will stay for a while, for as long as the fire burns. Yet when the joker's inhaled the last cough, she's gone with the wind. Ashen, young and so fair - the most alluring he's ever seen. His sooty hands shuffle to roll another cigarette, just to see her for a little bit.

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A quite small and deceivingly simple painting. The horizon is set aflame and in the middle stands the illuminated cross brightly shining. The heavens up above herald the Son, singing praises to what has come - patiently nine remain while the scoffer turns and walks away. The Light blinds some and in their discomfort they turn away.

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The Dusk was painted some months after The Dawn, in their natural succession Dusk is darker both in colour and setting. It was painted in a similar manner as The Dawn and it was an attempt when I had several people tell me I should do more things like The Dawn as it was their favourite of my work, however each painting is unique and their own and not even I can make replicas of my own work. The Dusk is more crude than The Dawn and could simply never be The Dawn as it was not crafted during the same circumstances. The Dusk took several days to complete and uses more methods than just paint scrapers. This piece was donated to a local auction as a charity in support for Ukraine. The sum of every painting sold in the auction was sent as aid to Ukraine.

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The Dawn is special beyond words, crafted on the 22/2/2022 finished in one sitting through potent ritual work it heralded a new beginning for not only me but the world. I had visions of war and felt a very strong connection to Ukraine and the faith of the people there, two days later Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The technique The Dawn was painted in was entirely new for me, and has since then become a staple in my work. The entire painting is painted using only paint scrapers. It is one of the more abstract pieces, it had to be. The process was so frantic and as my head was filled with vivid imagery of death and conflict, my entire body was filled with intense emotions and energies; energies which seemed to be bursting out of me and onto the canvas.

The Dawn is a painting about the sun rising after a dark night, it is about the flowers which bloom in soil fed with blood, it is a light in the dark. A peacock in a snowstorm. The Dawn is a one of a kind, it is a piece I am certain I can never replicate due to the special circumstances which it was created. I would later come to do its counterpart - The Dusk, which is proof of the uniqueness of The Dawn.

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An alchemist is a person who turns lead to gold, heavy into light and darkness into brightness. To transmute impurity to purity is a process that is not only physical and mental but also deeply spiritual. At the centre of the alchemical process is a unification of opposites - at the nexus is life!

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