The Grimm’s fairy tale of The Six Swans may not be as well known as Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty, but I remember it making an impression on me as a kid. It might have been because of the large family I grew up in (were were six kids) or maybe because it’s an unusual story. A girl saves her brothers instead of a prince saving the girl. Also she does it by sewing shirts, and sewing was something I loved to do at that time. I came across this tale again recently while reading Marie-Louise Von Franz’s book about The Feminine in Fairy Tales. It made me think of an unconscious sketch I did a while ba ..read more

Gemini, which is Latin for “twins,” is the 3rd sign of the zodiac and is ruled by Mercury, the planet responsible for communication, messages, schooling and education. Symbolized by the twins Castor and Pollux, Gemini is all about dualism, the opposites, negative and positive, division, life and death, or the dual nature of man. Since duality breaks the original unity, it also brings the possibility of deviating from the divine and the appearance of sin. Myth of Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux are the twin half-brothers known together as the Dioscuri. The divine twins are often portrayed ..read more

The sign of Libra, which is Latin for “scales,” is the 7th sign of the zodiac and is ruled by the planet Venus, typically associated with the principles of harmony, love, beauty, and relationships – all things where having a balance is important. In a larger sense, the scales of Libra represent the equilibrium between the two natures of man, the natural and the spiritual. But with the scales there’s also the idea of fairness and justice, which in Greek mythology was personified by the goddesses Themis and Dike, holding the scales of Justice. Lady Justice Myths of the goddess Themis Like her ..read more

The sketch below, from a few years ago, was part of a series of unconscious drawings I did during a period of introspection. Starting by drawing 6-7 random lines with my eyes closed, I asked this question in my mind: "what’s in the way, blocking.” After that I opened my eyes to complete the drawing. The answer came out of my pen, without my resisting or trying to guide it: a silhouette of a woman with a rose partly growing on her back. unconscious drawing Sleeping Beauty As soon as I saw the drawing I thought the rose should be on the woman’s head, that’s what’s blocking. But as far as how ..read more

The strange looking sea-goat is the symbol for Capricorn, the 10th sign of the zodiac which is ruled by the stern Saturn, responsible for setting rules and limitations. Torn between land and sea, the half-goat, half-fish needs limits to manage between these two extremes. Symbolizing the dual nature of man and its ability to reach for both height and depth, it also reflects the movement of the sun at winter solstice which appear to plunge into the sea to be reborn. In ancient times the constellation Capricornus was also associated with the Babylonian god Ea-Oannes (a.k.a. Enki), known as the “A ..read more

Three years ago my twin sister’s son left home to study guitar in college and moved into his own apartment. He was only around 16 or 17 at the time, but he’d been playing with adults since I don’t know 10 or 12 years old, so I guess that helped him make the transition pretty naturally. I started this painting to send him as a housewarming present, and got as far as blocking out the room and furniture pieces but didn’t have time to finish before he moved. And I guess I got busy after that cause the painting ended up buried in my studio under a pile of other work. The other day I was clearing so ..read more

Every now and then I look back on my previous work and feel the urge to refresh those illustrations which don’t reflect my current style but which I still love as far as the concept goes. This illustration of a Christmas town from way back in 2016 is one of those. The lettering, especially, makes me cringe now. I also decided to change the greeting to Season’s Greetings since I have this other illustration from last year that already says Happy Holidays. I started by eliminating some of the elements to make the composition less cluttered: the kids by the snowman, the car driving by, the ent ..read more

Following Aries, Taurus brings another symbol of generative power and male fertility, but this time connected with more earthly qualities like stability and wealth. Its symbol is the bull, which in ancient Egypt was always associated with the king. Their most important bull deity was the Apis bull, a symbol of the harmonious balance of the universe which came to mean eternity itself. Myth: The Apis Bull Between the horns of the Apis there was a solar disk, which symbolized for the Egyptians the power of the king. Since the horns had the shape of a crescent moon, it was as if the sun survived ..read more

Bringing together the luminous sun of Leo with the virgin earth, the meaning of the sixth sign of the zodiac is generally connected to all that surrounds the fertility of the land, including things like our need to measure time. The well-known symbol for Virgo is the Celestial Virgin, usually a woman holding a sheaf of corn or wheat, which in mythology takes the form of Persephone and her mother Demeter, the fertility and grain goddesses who establish the cycle of the seasons and regulate life. Persephone with Hermes, Hecate and Demeter, Terracotta krater And their story begins with Hades, l ..read more

Work and play is a big part of being human. We work to support ourselves and others, and play to enjoy ourselves or to develop as children. There’s something universal about it, yet the attitude we have toward one and the other depends a lot on the values of our family, culture, profession, or even on the individual, though typically those values are collective. One way that societies transmit these values is via stories and symbols, such as the fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper. The original version told by Aesop clearly favors the ant for her hard work and planning over the carelessness o ..read more