I just cracked open Carl Jung's last book, Man And His Symbols, and I couldn't agree more with his theory that dreams are the receiving end of a mode of communication. Are you someone that enjoys analyzing your dreams too?
For Jung this was our psyche speaking to us through dream symbols. Personally, I have a more spiritual view of the world, and I believe that these dream messages are coming from both an internal voice and external sources too.
My latest painting on paper features a set of dream visitors. Weeks ago I scribbled down a quick sketch after a wild dream. It wasn't the first time that an owl and a swarm of moths had visited me at night. Curious, right? Using that sketch as guidance, I created my newest painting shown above and called it "Dream Visitors: Owl and Moths II".
The crisp details of the dream have faded now, so all I have left is this painting and the faint memory that every square inch of the nighttime air was filled with wings and fluttering creatures.
The only way I can describe it is that it didn't look glittery, it felt glittery.
My Qigong teacher, Samm Smeltzer, taught me to dive a little deeper by doing some research and learning about what sort of spiritual meanings other cultures gave these symbols.
A brief search on the internet and a peek into a couple of my books shows me that there is one main overlapping meaning that many cultures hold for Great Horned Owls: "Owls are wrapped in magic, mystery, and esoteric knowledge. Dreaming of them is a sign that you are called to awaken to your true nature and strengthen your intuition." (source)
With this owl messenger coming to me right before my Medical Qigong Practitioner training where I was working to further develop my intuition and open a new healing skill set, I'd say that message was spot on.
This added layer of meaning and symbolism is just one of the many reasons you'll continue to see animals in my art.