Years ago, I dreamt about a jet black raven the evening we discovered the petroglyths on the sandstone beaches of Hornby island. My young family and I spent our summers on that island. It was a wonderful time for the Lynch tribe. A time full of possibility, freedom and growth. Hornby island is as exotic a place as I have ever experienced.
Nobody truly understands the purpose and meaning of the 500 plus year old etched symbols and marks. Possibly it was a way for the ancient natives to call the fish in from the sea or to give thanks for their bounty. I like the thought that they let it be known they were here for future souls, like my children and me, to acknowledge they roamed this very ground long ago….such is the magic of communication.
I just completed this painting 22 years later as remembrance of a special time for my family. The natives of the west coast have an important roll for the raven. They depict the raven with a shinny moon in his beak symbolizing the terrible beauty of life and that the ‘Trickster’ raven like India’s ‘Shiva’, will dance you into it. They are the illusion makers and take us to places we would not go otherwise. Now looking back many years later with all life’s trials and tribulations…I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
‘Trickster’ exhibited at ‘Painters at Painters’ last weekend. 24 X 48 in. oil on canvas
