Notes

Visual language

The paintings from Magicx originated from a desire to find answers to questions of life. Each painting is an intuitive voyage of discovery. The visual language uses symbols having a meaning of themselves, but combined they tell their own story. Each has a different perception. The spectator translates his own reality in wat he sees. Below is a brief explanation of a number of symbols and titles.

Anam Cara (Soulmate) is the Celtic vision of friendship. An unconditional love breaking all conventions. The Anam Cara experience is a flash of recognition. You become aware of each other; you have the feeling that you have always known each other.

Bushido tands for “away from the warrior”. It comes from the Japanese sword masters (Samurai) and belongs to the highest forms of art in Zen. To the Samurai the technique of sword fighting and personal development have highest priority.

Dragons The dragon in my paintings represents thoughts and illusions. It is sometimes said: in the West they fight the dragon and in the East they ride the dragon. The question is “which dragon do you prefer?” The Western dragon has a scaly skin, sharp claws, a hard muscular tail and wings. He can be very aggressive; when threatened he spits fire. The Western dragon lives on land in isolated places, often in caves. He is fond of treasures.

The eastern dragon mostly has a friendly nature. He lives in the waters of the earth. The ocean, rivers and lakes are his home. His skin is covered with scales. His head looks like the head of a camel and he has horns. In his beard he wears a pearl with magic power with which he can make himself big and small…, and he can fly high in the sky. If his anger is roused storms will rage the oceans. If the Eastern dragon is in a good temper then the waters are calm and inviting.

Winged lion and entangled snakes The lion is the symbol of animality, passion and instinctive love. The two entangled snakes show an energy level encounter. They writhe around each other and rise. The lion gets wings. The sexual passion is transformed. The winged lion has become aware of the love that transcends the physical level to the level of spiritual love

Curtain Stands for a fixed idea of real life.

Juno & Jupiter A god couple. Juno is the patroness of marriage and is the wise but also assertive consort of Jupiter. He keeps the conscience awake in order to let goodness, order, justice, benevolence and kindness rule on earth and to punish falseness and untruth. Juno stands for intuition and feminine expression. Intuition is the practical truth coming from within. Jupiter stands for truth and masculine expression. Truth liberates.

Masks The mask suggests secrecy or change. In in my experience the mask is a frozen moment. It disguises the truthfulness and authenticity of existence. Masks with a soul are intriguing. You can - as it were - still feel the presence of their maker.

Ocean The ocean is a beautiful metaphor for how our thinking and feeling are related to each other. Above the water is the wind, our thinking which creates the waves, the turmoil in our brains. Because of that turmoil on the surface the depth of the ocean with its undercurrents and beautiful fish becomes completely hidden from our view.

Ourobouros A snake eating its own tail and expressing cyclical renewal symbolizes eternity.

The wheel of karma In the painting Bushido the Wheel of Karma is depicted by a large circle with a white border in which time is divided into twelve hours. The time never stops ticking, no matter what happens. In astrology there are also 12 zodiac signs that man has received at birth and continue to reign throughout his life. When karma is at work you are often unintentionally confronted with things you would rather not face. Karma sends you in a certain direction. It often has to do with your life mission and solving problems. If you cannot solve them then a certain theme will return in an ever changing form. The effect of karma is an opportunity. Eventually karma offers freedom.

Saturn is a planet the influence of which is felt in everybody’s life. Saturn stands for problems and fierce confrontations we preferably want to ban out of our lives. We all have to deal with it one day. Saturn stands, astrologically spoken, for the adult maker. He forces you to face your problems. When you try to get them out of the way they will never stop following you, more and more persistently.

Siamese twins Imagine, two souls in one body. You are are constantly aware of the duality. You would rather prefer to separate both or merge them into one soul. The Siamese twins in the painting Bushido symbolizes the inner struggle between feelings and thoughts. The keyword is cooperation, finding the right balance.

Spiral Represents, despite its infinite nature, the limit. There is a beginning and an end to everything.

Butterfly The butterfly embodies lightness and also grace and changeability. She also stands for transformation.

Sun and moon The sun is a very powerful symbol of masculinity, light, warmth and life energy. The moon is the symbol of femininity. Represents imagination and the sun’s reflection, for the true essence of life.


“A symbol is never quite located in the light. It keeps a vital connection with its roots in the dark. It has many faces. A symbol invites you to think. A symbol does not nail thinking down to half-truths. A symbol lives; it constantly gently stirs up thinking to new insights. Because it is alive it very faithfully reflects the subtle changes that take place in your soul time and again. A symbol is open and leaves room for the depth and the paradox inside you”.

John o’Donohue, philosopher