100% CHANCE OF REINE

THE STORY: For years I was resting within a cocoon and rebuilding my soul. 

I read a quote that said; Nowhere inside a caterpillar does it know that it will become a butterfly. In that moment my cocoon began to disintegrate and the colours of my new wings began to emerge.

My mom died in her 40’s of ovarian cancer from asbestos in baby powder that was used on her as an infant. Truthfully, I thought she was sick and would get better. I was wrong and her death killed me too. Prior to this moment I could say I was creatively exploding with success, scholarships, awards and other high-lights such as photographing Elizabeth Taylor.  I was on cloud nine and tapped into a creative power that was exciting and fun.

This painting began to emerge in 2008 – 14 years after my moms passing.  The first 10 years were almost a right-off and I wondered many times if I was ever going to feel whole again. Gradually with therapy I began to feel the light and this painting was the first indication that my cocoon was about to disintegrate and a new Reine was about to emerge.

Around the same time I was designing a new way to combine my two passions of paint and photography that also included creating my own custom multimedia canvases for all three to merge. The healing process from my moms death ironically was also the creative catalyst for my new process. From chaos, creativity is born!

This new technique allowed me to experiment with different multimedia backgrounds and as such 4 versions of this painting exists. One was donated to Michael Beckwith at Agapelive.

I called this one 100% Chance of REINE  as a reminder of the power within as well as the courage and determination necessary to battle the very convincing energy of isolation, stagnation and loss. While I admit it took me longer than I would have liked to regain a stable foothold, I am grateful for the knowledge and muscle memory of my previous victories to guide me back on track.

THE DETAILS: Dimension: 36X48 inches Process: Multimedia image on canvas, mounted on hardwood frame Materials: Architectural vellum, raw cotton, rice paper, notebook pages, acrylic paint and varathane.

FULL BEAM photographed by Hollie Whitehead. Hollie noticed a tree in a field in that she felt looked like it was still filled of life and waiting to tell a story, even though it had been severely chopped down. The position I took while standing in front of it we called FULL BEAM and became the base for 100% Chance or REINE.

3rd generation Bodhi Tree at Foster Botanical Garden Honolulu, Hawaii. Medium format image shot on black and white film.

BLESS THE PLANET