Freedom of Dreams

235 x 100 cm
Oil on linen

It was a bright day in the beginning of Autumn. Change was blowing in with the raging storm, but the wind was as warm as the sunlight shining with the intensity of the fleeting Summer. Charlotte’s hair danced with it, striking her face with a happy madness. New opportunities seemed to be ready for the taking, and her heart nearly exploded with happy anticipation.

Standing by the lake of her home town, Charlotte closed her eyes and gave a deep breath. In her mind, the picture started taking shape. Streaks of hair, feathers, the melodious flurry of it all. She opened her eyes, and in front of her a little tern bolted from the sky into the water to catch a silvery, wriggling fish. That was it. A solid idea materialised. A woman being led by some of the most wondrous, yet inconspicuous birds of the world: Artic Terns. They fly from the North to the South Pole and back again, year after year. Nothing can stop them from circling the world, accomplishing the seemingly impossible with nothing but their bodies and a bit of thermal help.

Just like this opportunities can arise. Only when we are open to see them, we can join their dance. They can pass you by without your noticing, but once your dreams become your compass, the world can be circled riding thermal waves.

Source of Imagination / Imagination of Source

50 x 70 cm
Oil on linen

A sunlight danced through the leaves of the forest, forming little puddles of soft brightness on the brown, sandy ground. Birds chattered to each other with thrilling vibrato. Charlotte’s toes softly touched the ground before the rest of her foot did, and slowly and noiselessly she followed her path beyond the paths that were laid out by others. Suddenly she heard a little shift of a leaf. She turned her head, and to her surprise she locked eyes with two roe deers: a mother and her baby. Curiously they looked, still nibbling on some branches. For many minutes the three of them stood like this, friendly gazing at each other. The baby even stepped closer, uninhibited by lack of fear. Funnily, the mother did not seem to mind. Then, all of a sudden, a dog barked, and the moment was broken. As quickly as it had appeared, it fled away, along with the jumping roe deers.

On the way home, the totality of the moment spun circles in Charlotte’s mind. It seemed so natural, so related. This feeling connected completely to the idea that all life on earth stems from the same source, the LUCA. This Last Universal Common Ancestor is a scientific theory proposed by Lamarck in 1809, stating that all life on earth originates from one common ancestral cell.

Out of this cell, all life as we know it started to evolve. The Western world classifies, and applies hierarchies among life forms, with ourselves as the top tier of the pyramid. However, as we have seen in countless studies, life is endlessly more interconnected and interrelated than this shallow view. How wolves change rivers (researched by Doug Smith), how trees communicate (researched by Suzanne Simmard), and so many other examples can be stated to prove we have forgotten our understanding the web of life.

While pondering upon all of this, Charlotte’s brain formed an image, which is shared with the world through this painting. The fungi sprout from the mycellium network, like thoughts are fruits of our brain. These ideas take flight, like birds. Our ears resemble shells for a reason, yet we share the sea when we truly listen, and the flower sends out secret signals through pheromones, attracting with imperceptible beauty. In addition to this, life forms in their least tangible, yet undoubtable present form, can also be caught in imagination. All is connected, and creativity is both a result and a source of this. The little dragonlike lizard in the painting symbolises that intertwining force, resting along the other shapes life can shift into.

The Light

40 x 30 cm
Oil on linen (panel)

Do you know this feeling of deep, interconnected love? If you don’t, don’t worry, just keep your eyes open and eventually it will find you. If it hits you, this is what it will feel like, and once you’re open to it, it’s like a wave crashing over you. Every cell in your body lights up, all of your senses sharpen but smooth at the same time, and the light that is within you shatters through the prism of that new reality.

This work is a collaboration between Charlotte and Helloyoufoundme, for their joint project Remarkable Kind. The colours are inspired by his gradient work, as is the frame. Helloyoufoundme is founded by Daan Viegas Damas, an upcoming artist specialised in visualising emotions through the essence of color and shape. His preferred medium is acrylic.