"Aurora Plume"
16" x 20"
Framed:  $1,200

Short Essay on Watercolor
and Aurora

Our sky - sometimes referred to as firmament - the heavens, or atmosphere - presents some of the most beautiful, astonishing and perplexing phenomena of nature. Due to such factors as the earth rotation and revolutions around the sun, solar flares, moon, this interaction between sun and earth is mediated by the atmosphere. The atmosphere - a relatively thin envelope surrounding the earth, and making biological life possible - is host to the combination of earth and sun.

Amongst these are storm clouds, sunsets, rainbows, meteors and the Milky Way . . . but the queen of the sky surely is the Aurora Borealis. Poets, priests, philosophers, artists and scientists have all bowed before this wonderful unworldly symphonic dance of luminous, icy transparent color, weaving and winding, beaming and trembling through the sky - leaping across the sky over the constellations - from zenith to horizon and all around. It's difficult to find words which truly convey this experience. It seems to follow no particular rules as it waxes and wanes, bursts forth - crawls, creeps, palpitates, expands and explodes - only to reappear as a faint glimmer, growing indefinitely. It is believed that no activity of Nature is arbitrary or superfluous. In the case of the aurora, we are mystified as to its overall purpose of earth's existence. It makes one ponder. . . that is to say, if no aurora existed, would life on earth be adversely affected? Perhaps this is the one superb example of God, supporting the notion of "art for art's sake." What a glorious finale, a display of sheer elan at the creation of the earth!

Is the aurora a primeral or archetypal light? Is it, in cosmic terms relatively old phenomenon or new -- evolving, leading into the future? Often I've wondered if this is the light referred to in the Bible: "and God said "let there be light." Perhaps the aurora is an 'open secret' providing humanity a glimpse into another dimension of existence/consciousness? Weaving planes of colored light, against the infinite darkness of the starry night - perhaps are the nearest natural phenomenon resembling descriptions of the inner world of etheric astral activity which was described by the prophets and mystics. Despite recent scientific developments and theories, the aurora continues to touch the hearts and imaginations, stirring and stimulating metaphysical faculties, despite the factual mechanical explanations offered by science.

Auroras have been filmed, photographed, painted and drawn. The oldest visual renditions or symbol of the aurora, so far as we know, is relatively recent. Each of the modalities has its own particular character, strengths and weaknesses. Common sense would have us believe that due to the aurora's movement, of course film or video would best capture the aurora. Yet, despite the invention of the camera, "traditional" artists continue to use brush, paint and canvas, to record the response of inner light - the light with which we can contemplate on light. Artists know that our response very much conditions how and what we see. Sight involves much more than the eyeball. Seeing is still largely a mystery. Visual objectivity is a philosophical issue leading to ontological quandries.

Over the millennium, various color mediums have been invented, such as enamels, encaustics,

Tempera, Oil, Gouache, Casein, Acrylic, Alkyd, Pastels, or Watercolors. For centuries, botanical illustrations have favored watercolors to render flowers. British landscape painters such as Constable, Turner and Cotman, appreciated the attributes of the watercolor medium to convey atmospheric phenomena. . . Watercolor is outstanding for its translucency, delicacy, fluidity and vibrancy and purity of color, relatively free from material encumbrances. In the hands of an experienced and gifted artist, watercolor contains a potential to portray qualities of luminous atmospheric phenomena in a way that no other medium does.

It is surprising that a survey of the vast historical and modern inventory of art available in museums, books, etc., indicates that despite their drama, beauty and mystery, paintings of auroras are rare. The most obvious reason for this is that the regions over which the auroric phenomena is common, also happen to be the most sparsely populated region of the earth, with the fewest number artists.

The further one moves from the polar regions of the earth toward the Equator, the more infrequent are aural displays seen. The heavily populated areas of the earth are historically tied in closely to climatic conditions suited for agriculture and general farming. Secondly, the aurora, unlike its distant cousin, the Dawn (after which it was named), is very illusive and swift, simultaneously appearing and vanishing in baffling ways. Comparatively, Dawn and Dusk change form and color relatively slowly.

Perhaps artists in general have dismissed or avoided the aurora due to this fleeting ephemeral, cosmic presence. Motion is the most illusive and challenging component of painting, an art which in reality is two-dimensional and static. Yet it is not unusual for an artist to direct his/her attention to the appearance of motion, for movement leads to life - the transformation - transfiguration. The outdoor "camera clad" plein air artist would be challenged indeed, to capture this ethereal and natural mystical phenomena. The water would freeze on the brush! The aurora would have appeared and disappearing long before the artist could set it down . . . the way he/she might a glacier or cloud.

Lastly, even though the land of the aurora is now much more accessible to the tourists via air travel and comfortable hotels, it is left to the artist with the naturalist's heart and eye and well-developed formal artistic skills to convey the splendor, mystery and fact of this event - the ultimate work of performance art.

Long ago, this artist had the wintery aurora imprinted deeply upon his eye, mind and heart as a child living in Alberta, Canada:

"Late at night in mid-winter, often we would still be at a snow-covered lake. Standing at the top of a large hill flowed down to the lake shore, we'd toboggan down at exhilarating speeds, bouncing up and over snow banks. It was the sort of thing every kid could do until midnight! I vividly recall the crystalline purity of the air and sweep of stars above - the foggy puffs of panting breath, we'd stop to rest as the aurora unfolded above us, chasing its tail from star to star."

This artist believes that the snowy white expanses below and the transparent aurora moving above played an early role in conditioning his visual sensibility. If I told you about my background - a small prairie town, without shopping malls, galleries, museums, or colleges - one might believe that I was culturally deprived. . . But I don't think that was the case - what that little town lacked on the cultural level - nature made up for many times over . The "source" was beneath me, around me and above me, when the aurora woke in its sleep and opened its curtain and danced before its cosmic audience: the stars.

The Aurora watercolors of Illuminism employ a relatively traditional approach to this topic. They offer a personalized interpretation. However, they are not based on camera-gathered information. I vividly recall that as a child, I frequently dreamt of the aurora. But is always took on a dramatically mystical aspect. It was stupendous. It was a cosmic hieroglyphic. I ran toward it, shouting "He's coming, He's Coming" and fell in ecstacy!

So, when I grew to become an artist, I naturally gravitated toward the watercolor medium. When in Colmar, France in the early '70's, I was introduced to a style of painting based upon large, flowing, transparent, superimposed washes of watercolor - and it all struck a deep chord of familiarity in his soul. These little known watercolors of the aurora are very likely amongst the most ethereal and moving examples of painting that can be found in today's art scene. Although they are small, these exquisite paintings are monumental, haunting and unforgettable. They are a fine tribute to the grandeur and mystery of the aurora.                                                 
- Leszek Forczek, 2001