“All these things have you said of beauty. Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied, And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw, But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight. People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and your are the mirror.” ~Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese born American philosophical Essayist, Novelist and Poet. 1883-1931)
I have always wondered how an angel would react if man somehow had a chance to peal back the veil of God’s heavens to look at one. And this painting shows the journey of one walking through the labyrinth and peering through golden branches (or is it a golden weave?) and finding a small cherub resting in joy.
Through the Veil (egg tempra, acrylic)
Artist: Charmian Toh
Copyright 2005
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