Inspired by the petroglyphs at the V bar V ranch south of Sedona, The Grandmother is one of my most honored paintings because of her sense of timelessness and vast stillness. As she gazes at the carved symbols, she holds the wisdom of the ancients in her very being. Within her are the memories of Mother Earth herself and the creation story of the great rivers and canyons of these vast lands. As she contemplates in expansive awareness, there is a sense of the spiral nature of reality as seen in the inward curving of a conch shell. One can sense the possibility of a new hope. Perhaps even the subtle form of the white buffalo calf awaiting birth to fulfill ancient prophecies of the world’s evolution to a new era. The aspen trees support her with their rooted unity as her inner illumination catches the attention of the camouflaged foxes who act as her protectors. It has been said of this painting that it engages the viewer’s symbolic level of awareness bringing one to a new level of understanding of the indivisible nature of all time and all being.

Prints of this image have been gifted to each of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers during their women’s gathering honoring the sacred waters (March 2014) on sacred lands just a few miles from the petroglyph site.