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Symbolism
Color (Historical Symbolism)
- Blue stands for sky, heaven, and water.
- Green means hope, the color of spring, and the renewal of life. Green also means poison, because arsenic, known in most ancient times, is green. Green also symbolizes jealousy and fear; both of which are deadly emotions.
- Red is the color of blood; it represents courage, sacrifice and passion.
- Black communicates seriousness, death, mourning, desolation.
- White is purity and chastity. It's also the color of surrender, because a piece of white cloth on a pole can be seen from a great distance.
- Gold or yellow means the sun and wealth. In addition, yellow, also represents envy, treachery, cowardice.
- Purple signifies rank, royalty/nobility, and authority. It is also the color of repentance.
- Scarlet, a yellow-red hue, is also a sign of dignity and high rank.
- Gray is a mixture of white & black and conveys colorlessness, both figuratively and literally.
Personal Symbolism
- A cliff can signify an ending, a decision making process, or a time to ponder and take action.
- The background - Dark represents night, seriousness, spiritual darkness and/or separation from God. The dark skies also help to convey the well known Christian theme of Christ being the light in our darkness.Light backgrounds help to translate hope and peace in the midst of struggles, as well as the beginning of a new day.
- The deserts are biblically symbolic of trials and tests of faith, which can be difficult and/or confusing for a time, but are designed to strengthen us and lead us to an oasis of freedom and joy.
- The crosses in my work refer to either Christ Himself and/or the burdens that we must carry in life.
- The figures are used to help the viewer put themselves in that particular setting/circumstance for contemplative purposes. Figures are kept as gender and race free as possible so that no viewer is excluded, but rather everyone is invited to examine the significance of the particular theme being portrayed.
Other visual symbolism
- Cloaks - saints, either in the making or fallen away
- Bald heads - a reminder that we are always 'naked' in front of God, He sees us as we really are.
- Dead Trees - spiritual death, danger, drought and unfruitfulness
- Skeletons - death, spiritual death, unrepentant, lost, hungry
- Hearts (Missing) - heartless, spiritual death, unlovable, brokenhearted
- Hearts (On the outside of the body) - having a heart for God, ready to love
- Kneeling - contemplative, position of prayer, showing reverence or being repentant
- Fetal positions - mourning, being repentant or resting in peace
- Standing - dignified, ready to overcome, or being still & stagnant in faith or in life
- Sitting - resting, being refreshed, contemplating the next step
- Carrying/Dragging Sacks or Bags - holding on to luggage such as: anger, heartbreak, loss, guilt, fear, or burdens from the past or present that can weigh us down and keep us from the potential that Father God has for us.
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