"And the forest will echo with laughter"

“This beautiful witch conducts her ritual and blessings in the forest, which as a human being she is a living part of.
Her blessings are so in tune and beneficial to all who live here that the forest herself and her creatures dance in celebration “
The inspiration first came to me around 15 years ago to draw this ( time before I could paint) but I didn’t have the skill nor did I know until recently how I would tell the story.
The title is the line in “A stairway to heaven “, a magical song.
From childhood I recognised this musical masterpiece as a very deep Western esoteric/ Celtic/spiritual song . I looked into it right before I started this painting and found that Robert Plant wrote this after he read“ Magical arts in Celtic Britain “ and boy did he do a wonderful job conveying that stream through his song.
I have included the ancient symbol of the Three Hares dancing in a circle???
This line in the song, like so many other lines just opens my imagination and this is the vision I see:
“a Celtic Witch amongst the elements and elementals, with creatures and plants, old Elms so wise, laughter and dancing, in gentle happiness together … so mote it be❤️”

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I have always been creative and enjoyed drawing and art at school whilst growing up in the Illawarra district of New South Wales. My trade as a Farrier [Blacksmith] although also a science is regarded as very artistic in nature. I now live in the North East Victoria region and am of both Italian and Australia heritage.
In 2006 I got serious about drawing and then moved onto oil painting, which I love, in 2014. Being totally self taught I have benefited from this and have developed my own style and have not followed marketing subject trends but painted from heart.

My paintings start with a strong emotional narrative and I use subjects in both a literal and symbolic way so as to open a door to wonder and imagination for the viewer whilst giving them the room to discover their own interpretations.

I am thoroughly rewarded when people are touched by my work, maybe recalling a sweet memory or desire and are left with a new sense of how beautiful life really is. Combined with my paintings I include written pieces/poetry that adds to and supports the messages I am conveying.
My process begins with a strong idea and title followed by a photo shoot with my models. I then go to the canvas and do the first under paintings and this is followed slowly with multiple layers of oil paint over the next months to bring these paintings alive.
I have an endless stream of inspirations and ideas that I want to paint and my hope is to touch as many hearts as possible, creating something beautiful in the memories of people while constantly developing my artistic skills.