50 - 50 Show Features Art by Wanda K. Whitaker

Kindred Spirits

50 -50 Show

July 30 - August 29, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, July 30 at 7:30pm

Sanchez Art Center

1220-B Linda Mar. Pacifica, CA 94044. 650.355.1894.

The Sanchez Art Center’s 50-50 show in Pacifica, California is the most challenging and ambitious artistic endeavor I’ve made as an artist. The commitment to paint one small 6" x 6" painting a day for 50 days is somewhat "extreme," however, after the last painting is completed, you relax in your ability to work so diligently on small works that require patience, creative contemplation and focus. Through the pain of finding out where my boundaries lay and learning how to enforce them was one of the most precious gifts I received from participating as an artist.

Title: Kindred Spirits - depicts the children of Tommy and Renee McElroy and the protective closeness of the family facing their fear of swimming together as one unit.

Title: Yoko's World

This collection is a personal reflection of my life as well as all the kindred souls who have come before me from the innocent and compassionate to the heroic and virtuous. The paintings, done in acrylic, form a mosaic pattern of familiar faces and sacred hidden messages. Some of the images I’ve selected to paint celebrate who we are on the planet earth and who we strive to be, while others remind us of where we came from, our divinity, and oneness with nature.

There are muralistic images that I developed as a historical accounting, some mystical, some cynical. The innocent child is the most kindred of all. During early childhood development the child’s only identity is love and often teaches us how to be joyful in a seemingly frightful world. I use hints of gold and silver throughout to bring about a certain "glow" or feeling of "richness."

Title: Tomboy

I have featured what I call, “Notable First Ladies,” the wives of U.S. Presidents and Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet in an Andy Warhol style, as a way to honor them and create a dialogue about their benevolent contributions and how the feminine energy is so important to balance the masculine qualities of the world we live in. You will see heroines like Benazir Bhutto, who stood up for democracy in Pakistan, Muhammad Ali, who gave up boxing for a higher purpose and a stance against the Viet Nam war and Elton John, who sings deeply from his heart as well as, jazz greats, gurus and Buddha’s. Their passion for life is demonstrated by their luminous character and ability to transend mediocrity.

Title: Bhutto's Dreaming

Title: Michelle Obama

"The eyes are the windows to the soul." 

- Shakespeare (A Mid-Summer's Dream)

Through portrait drawing and painting one is able to commnicate thoughts of the soul. The eyes tell it all. In so called "reality" most people have a difficult time looking people in their eyes. Yet this form of communication is what babies need from their parents in order to survive. Through the eyes, parents can tell if a baby is ill. As the child grows older, parents know when their child is telling the truth or lieing. That is because one can see the soul through the eyes. I decided to include portraits in the collection to capture the essence of the spirit. The eyes talk to me. When I'm painting portraits, I'm connecting on a subconscious level with that person's spirit through the eyes.

Title: Medea

Title: Wise Visitor in Pacifica

Mystics used the Third Eye, sometimes referred to as the "seat of the soul" or the pineal gland. It is located between the eyebrows in the center of the brain between the right and left hemispheres. It is said that by awakening the Third Eye you will awaken the hidden powers within you. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the third eye is a symbol of enlightenment. This is represented in the depictions of the Buddhas and Hindu images.

Title: Olympic Swimmer

Finally, the first week of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver took place during the Random Acts of Kindness Week. Olympic athletes  combined kindness with competitive drive and sportsmanship for the greater good. See if you can recognize the personalities in this figurative gold representation of Olympic atheletes.

Overall, kindred spirits display a characteristic that doesn't require much. Kindness can be performed at a very small or large level of engagement. As a matter of fact, we all can become kindred spirits. Almost every spiritual practice speaks of "kindness" as a way of living. The Buddhists recommend  practicing random acts of kindness each day. The Bible quotes, "that which makes a man desirable is his kindness” (Prov. 19:22). Love and kindness has been a part of Judaism from the very beginning.

Perhaps you can demonstrate kindness today in the form of saying “kind” words, giving up your public transportation seat to the elderly or just simply smiling to another can make their day brighter and the world becomes a better place.

For commissioned portraits and paintings contact:
Wanda K. Whitaker
Phone: (650) 557-0920 or (415) 760-7751
Email: anchoredinspirit@yahoo.com
Web Site: http://www.anchoredinspirit.com/