I began the summer painting season (June 21) with a succession of varied works on paper: my princess, a metaphor for the soul, in a state of gem-like regal serenity. I slashed away at old canvases with oil sticks, inspired by the Spencer Lewis Russel and Oscar Murillo paintings.

What did these two disparate interests have in common? (That is, the Princess-Soul, and these rugged modern painters) The Feminine Archetype, of course.

According to the model of psychologist C.G. Jung, as well as Jewish Mystical thought (Chassidut), the feminine is symbolized by earth. Painting utilizes earthly substances – oils and pigment. [Note from Johaness, editor: Heidegger speaks of painting as “earth”/”dirt”.] Therefore painting is an investigation of the feminine domain – an expression of the uniting of the intellectual & physical, the spiritual & material, a Uniting of Heaven & Earth, of the Masculine & Feminine.