Dream Catcher Dreams

" Essence of a Dreamcatcher"

This certainly isn't a painting I would dream of selling but it is a very strange how this piece came about this morning. 

I started my day by painting a few new washes. These pieces are for me to experiment with colour, relax through and hopefully discover new ideas for future work. This morning on one wash a spider web seemed to appear. So I aided it with a few brush strokes. As seen below. But where the colour had bled and merged beneath the web I could see a feather effect. Immediately I thought about Native American Dream Catchers.

Spider web or Dream catcher.

The next thing I knew I had left my painting completely and I was reading up about these wonderful items. Said to allow good dreams to pass through but trap bad dreams in the webbing. I love the idea that negativity could be entrapped if a dream catcher was placed near your bed whilst you were sleeping. In fact I love the history behind them completely.

I added to the wash making bolder marks on the feathers below. But I have left the web quite quiet, so it will be easier to trap anything negative in it. Bad dreams or negative thoughts.

What a very odd painting day but so rewarding learning about something, a tradition so ancient and so magical.

I know I want to learn more now.

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