A Series of Paintings about Loneliness, Emptyness and Grieving

'Empty Chair' (30.5cm x 39.5cm)

This image of an empty chair has layers of meaning for me. I was reading about counseling therapies and came across the 'empty chair technique', a counseling method used in Gestalt Therapy. The person sits facing an empty chair; pretending that 'someone' is sitting in the chair opposite.

This allows the person to raise his awareness of how he functions in relationships, address conflicts and disappointments, and say 'what needs to be said'. I imagined that this could be useful also when someone departed from life, to honor and include the deceased, to reinforce the notion that they are never gone; only missing for now but here with us in spirit. Leaving an empty chair at the table to honor and remember a loved one is actually a familiar idea. Bob Wills, the famous country music artist wrote 'Empty chair at the table' about a family loss - "there's an empty chair at the table, and a light on the Christmas tree". 

The chair became a powerful image of something 'lost' or 'missing'.

This work is Framed, Acrylic on canvas for SALE at $280AU 

'Empty Room'

(61cm x 61cm)

The empty room image expands on the concept of the empty chair. A room that sits still, frozen in time; the bed and chair empty. The person who lives there has gone; a sense of 'something missing' has taken their place. The painting on the wall leads away to the gates of another place, beyond the limiting reality of the lonely room. A lot of people I know experienced loss in some form or other in 2010. This work is an attempt to communicate  and validate those feelings of grief, sadness and loss that touch us all through a visual image.

Framed Acrylic on Canvas - $400AU

'Pearly Gates'

(30.5cm x 39.5cm)

This image repeats the 'painting' in 'Empty Room'. A path leads through a garden to the pearly gates. From here we can only see so far, the view past the gates is hidden.

I guess the idea of the 'pearly gates' symbolizes a deep mystery for us - and brings to mind a few questions. 'What is beyond them?' 'Why can't we go there?' and 'Are they having fun?'

Framed Acrylic on Canvas - $280