A Restless Dream [1]

A restless Dream, first work: “Empyreum”

Empyreum(A little pencil and ballpoint pen drawing with gold leaf on 13 x 20cm)

“Empyreum” is the beginning of my new series and roots in the works about NOUS.

“Searching for bliss,
I stand in fire, burning. The highest sky is open.

My Empyreum,
midst the chaos raging in my mind.

A moment of silence,
a breath of life, a vision of forgiving.

A sudden glimpse
on the pure essence of a golden being.

And then the storm rages on…”


I love how the light plays with the gold leaf and makes a work so vivid.

Empyreum_details

6 Comments

  1. The way you’re working with the gold leaf is really awesome. I really hope I could see it for real in the future. Have you paint it to obtain this greenish colour in some place?

    That reminds me an illustration of Divine Comedy by Gustave Doré, there was also this circular movement, but he had put angels in it, and not some dragonish creature, that makes a fun contrast x).

    I’m not quite sure of the interpretation. As far as I know, in the classical cosmology the highest sky is filled with the fire element. Beside, for Heraclite, fire is the primordial element, so I would be inclined to see here a representation of the creating process in the mind.

    I don’t know if it’s intended (but I suppose, as you seem to have borrowed from Heraclite’s theories), but I find interesting that in Heraclite’s conception, the soul is a mix of fire and water, but your creature is both winged (air) and serpent’s tailed (earth).

    1. Author

      Thank you c: oh yes! It looks so much better in real!
      nope, this gold leaf was already colored this way when I bought it^^

      Fun Fact: exactly this was part of my inspiration XD

      Good thinking! But here I didn’t borrow much from Heraclites’ theories^^
      I like your idea with the “creating process in the mind”~

      Well, then let me explain my basic thoughts:
      The Empyreum, the highest sky/heaven, it is the place of the Blessed. (in german: “die Seligen” and “selig” means bascially ‘very happy’)
      When reading about the Empyreum und religion/believe stuff it sounded like that true happiness can only be found there: in the Empyreum. It reminded me of the Christians’ believe that only Christians can come to some sort of heaven after death, to their paradise. Personally, I think this believe is quite sad. Like you can only be happy there and nowhere else, only if you follow their believe/rules. (well, you know my opinion about this sort of religion x) )
      I think we can find our own “Eympyreum”, here and now – no matter how chaotic, sad or stressful our lives may be.
      And this is described in my little poem.

      1. As you’re not using true gold leaf, that’s oxidisation of a copper alloy, you shouldn’t touch it with bare hands (or wash them after), because it’s toxic.
        Btw if you don’t do it already, you should varnish your artwork with “gold” leaf, otherwise they will quickly oxidise as well.

        Ah damn, at the very beginning I ruled out the Christian view, because I thought you wouldn’t borrow in it, wrong choice x)
        Well, that’s sad mostly for them. I mean, as I’m not Christian I don’t fell concerned by their paradise, I’ll have my own. So that’s problematic for a Christian who don’t follow the rules of Christianity, but why he is Christian then, if he don’t want to follow their rules?

        1. Author

          I know, I use a varnish to cover it when I’m done usually.

          No no, he’s not Christian – you’re probably misunderstanding something here.
          Here I simply use the Christians and their belief as an example to express the ‘general’ meaning/symbolism of the artwork: One doesn’t need the permission or need to follow the rules of someone, a religion or anything like that, to find their own sort of ’empyreum/paradise/heaven/whatever’.

  2. But when you consider empyrus as some kind of paradise, it’s de facto a Christian view, I don’t think the word carried this meaning before, it was just a part of the cosmos.
    I know, I’m splitting hairs x)

    1. Author

      I consider it as a place of happiness and calmness (as it is the place “der Seligen”), which I think can be found everywhere, not only through religion or something like that, as mentioned.

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