Hope

"Hope (Eos, Bringer of Light)" Oil on paper on board, 20x16".

Eos is the Goddess of the Dawn. A titan predating the Gods of Olympus, she rises each morning over the great river Oceanus. She lifts the veil of night to bring the light of the new day - to bring Hope.

What does it mean, to have Hope?

It means to have faith that Something Greater is yet to come.

Hope.

It’s a wonderfully human concept, as ancient as man himself.

We are faced with constant stress and duress, we find ourselves in circumstances that are far from ideal. 

We are faced with decisions that place us between a rock and a hard place, with sometimes dire consequences.

What do you do when your fate throws you to the mercy of the wind?

When all that you have, all that you are, goes up in flames?

Do you wither away, resigning to defeat?

What do you do when the air has been sucked from your lungs, and you haven't the strength to stand?

You hold on to hope.

These metaphors can apply to everything that happens.
When fate wants to push you around, you stand your ground.

You plant two feet on the Earth and stand strong, like the rock that withstands the sea's harsh blows day after day.

You look to the skies - to the sun - and draw strength.

And each night - in the cold, in the dark - you hold on to Hope, with faith that the Sun will rise again.

The cycle of night and day is the embodiment of hope itself…that there will always be a new sun on the horizon.

A new beginning.

Hope.

A video posted by Nicholas Elias (@eliasillustration) on Oct 18, 2016 at 9:32am PDT

On a Personal Note:

My personal life has been a direct source of thought and emotion behind my paintings for the last eight months, each image serving to document what my thoughts and feelings were at the time of conception. They also serve as a method to cope with those thoughts and emotions - thinking through what I was feeling through the act of painting.

Hope brings me full circle in a few ways.

Hesitance, Resignation, Pursuance, and now Hope are all tied thematically to the idea of Fate, and the outcomes possible when dealing with fate in various ways.

Hesitance and Resignation in many ways embodied a darker side of Fate. Pursuance began to break through those darker emotions, and had under it's dramatic surface a sense of hope and forward thinking.

Finally, Hope brings us face-to-face with the light, literally. I found myself returning to a mindset of hope in my own life, and what better way to illustrate this "return to form" for me than to go back to my roots and love of Greek Mythology?

I began to with Pursuance, that painting being very influenced by the Greek aesthetic and of course the use of a centaur.

But Hope returns to the mythology directly - a portrait of Eos - bringing me back to the series I began with Ares exactly one year ago.

Pursuance

"Pursuance" Oil on paper on board, 18x24"

Strength, courage, justice...these are virtues all good men and woman strive for.
The moments we seem to struggle with these virtues tend towards the times of greatest turmoil within our own soul.

The search for clarity and evolution of the soul is often the realm of the mystic and the philosopher alike. It is from these great thinkers that we can gleam a shred of hope; that through introspection and meditation we may come to realize great inner truths that lead us on a path towards virtue.

Our past stays behind us, but it's totality shapes who you are. Do not shy away from those experiences, even those you'd rather not remember.
Look towards the past without apprehension - stare it in the eyes. Glean what you can from your own transgressions. From this you can walk away a better person.

It is on the foundation of our pasts -knowing what has come before to falter and fail, and what has stood the test of time - that we can build ourselves up towards our ideals.

Ambition is an incredibly human trait. It's what can keep us going in the times of greatest struggle, it's what keeps us growing even in times of contentment.

Tempting as it may be, do not look outward for any answers you seek. The greatest power lies within one's self, this you must never doubt.

"Pursuance" detail

"Dreams cover much time,

Still they leave blind

the will to begin.

I searched for you there

And now look for you from within"

-Robert Plant & Allison Kraus

Resignation

"Resignation," Oil on illustration board. 24x13.5"

"Res-ig-na-tion: noun

The Acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable."

Fate can be a fickle thing. We like to believe we are meant for something, that we are bound by fate for the trajectory our life takes, or for some greater purpose. That belief tends to be strongest when something positive occurs in our life. We say “it is meant to be”. But when something undesirable occurs in our life, we often find ourselves caught in disbelief. 

We ask ourselves, “How can this be?”, “Why me?” and plead with the skies, “this isn’t supposed to happen!”

Suddenly we don’t want to believe in fate any more.

I don’t particularly believe in a finite, predetermined fate. Rather, I believe in the power of our attitude towards the external forces in our life. Our attitude directly impacts our actions and reactions, and thus, seemingly, our fate. If we accept whatever is thrown at us with grace and dignity, it is neither good nor bad, and it is all “meant to be”.

The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius says in his Meditations, “Misfortune born nobly is good fortune.”

Detail from "Resignation"

My painting “Resignation” is an allegory for this idea of acceptance. The knight is accepting his fate, albeit his ultimate demise. Even though we are with him at the time of his dying, he is at peace. He in fact embraces the nymph - the personification of his fate - accepting it rather than fighting against it. The two are engaged in a gentle and tender embrace, and his right hand even guides the blade. There is sorrow in their eyes, but he bears his misfortune nobly.

For what can we do to stop the power of fate? We are not in control of the external forces in our life. We are only ever in control of ourselves, but there is perhaps an even greater power in that.

Embrace your fate. All of it.

Hesitance

"Hesitance," oil on board. 16x20"

"Hesitance" is the first piece in a new body of personal work. In the past, I haven't made a habit of blogging about the meaning behind my paintings, but with this new work I intend to. Aside from being created for my portfolio, it also has a deeper personal meaning, and I feel it deserves a companion blog post.

The past year has been a difficult time in my life, and an overarching theme has been change. I had been resistant to that change until recently, when it came to a head. I was forced to face it. This illustration and several others coming in the next few months deal with the issues I have been facing.

"Hesitance" deals with the concept of stages in life's journey, and subsequently, of change. I chose to use death as a metaphor for change, inspired by Viking funerals. In mythology (and religions for that matter), death is often seen not as an ending, but rather the next phase of one's journey. 

The archer is tasked with sending off a companion to the next phase of their life, and his flaming arrow is prepared to be fired. But he hesitates - he, too, will have to deal with the change brought forth by the absence of that companion. Perhaps he is grappling with the reality of this juncture, or silently saying a final goodbye...

When we are faced with moments of great change we are often hesitant to walk the new path. It seems treacherous - it's unexplored, unknown. Our archer knows he is marking the end of one life - one phase. But perhaps in the end, there can also be found a beginning.

As the sun sets on this day, and a chapter comes to a close, we may make peace under the stars. For in time, the sun will rise again, and the start of a new journey begins. 

Hitting the Ground Running

It's the second month of the New Year, and my first post for 2016 is a news update!

2016 started off with a bang and I've hit the ground running. Momentum is building and I'm excited for what this year could bring. It's going to be a year filled with many firsts for me, so to start, here's what I have coming up so far:

"Ares, God of War" Oil on board, 18x24". September 2015

Publications & Exhibitions:

• Infected by Art Volume 4:
• "Ares, God of War" (above) has been accepted into this year's annual fantasy publication! This is a big honor for me and I'm very excited for "Ares" to be my first illustration accepted into a juried competition. Thank you to IBA and the judges!

• Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell Tribute Exhibition: Opens March 19th, 2016. 
• "Ares, God of War" was also a finalist in the contest hosted by The Art Order. My painting and a small selection of other finalists will be exhibiting at Gallery Provocateur in Chicago, Illinois.
• Illuxcon 9 Showcase: October 19-23, 2016.
• This will be my first exhibition at a convention! I attended Illuxcon 8 in 2015 and can't wait to have a booth this year. Single day, Five day, and Student passes are available at the convention's website.

Website & Social Media Updates:

• Store: My Etsy shop, which primarily featured oil studies and plein air paintings, has been temporarily removed from my website. A new store with prints and originals of my illustrations is in the works and will be launched in the coming weeks. 
• Social Media Expansion: In addition to my established presences on Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, and DeviantART, you can now find me on Art Station and Reddit. 

New Works:

• I have a few projects under NDA right now that I can't share yet but can't wait to do so! And as always, I'm working to update my portfolio with new works.
• With Illuxcon 9 coming up in October, I expect to have a new body of work to bring with me to the show.  I'm working on new paintings with the goal of releasing one per month for the next eight months. To finish off this post, here is the first painting of the New Year, "Jason & the Khalkotauroi". Some of you may recognize the image from an older version I painted last year, but that's for another post!

"Jason & the Khalkotauroi" A scene from the Greek Myth, The Argonautika. Oil on board, 20x31".  January 2016.