“All we have is now
All we’ve ever had is now.”
“ALL WE HAVE IS NOW,” THE FLAMING LIPS

“We are stones to be seen
In the meadows we are dreams
To be free.”
“MARAQOPA,” DAMIEN JURADO

Where do you go in your dreams? In the golden ones you wake up from regretfully, wishing you could close your eyes and get back to? That is the fleeting moment I wanted to capture here. In these days, where things can feel so uncertain, our prospects so insecure, we need those dreams more than ever. We need to believe in a place where the sun illuminates the lush landscape, and the cool breeze is the perfect counterpoint to the gently warmed rocks. Where the air is sweet with the perfume of flowers and the falling water sings a meditative melody. Where love is real and everything glows with the light of possibility.

Framed by the landscape around them, the lovers pictured here represent Aphrodite on the left and Hermes on the right, the former associated with the wild rose and the latter the crocus – symbolized by the flowers in their hair. Theirs was a brief affair, very fitting for a dream, and as I often do, I have taken liberties with Hermes’ canonical gender.

This piece was heavily inspired by “Daybreak” by Maxfield Parrish, one of my favorite painters. The color palette reflects the softness I wanted to capture, and is rendered in watercolor. The frame, influenced by art nouveau & moorish designs, is hand-cut paper, embossed and finished to resemble gold leaf.