Blessed are those who mourn: 2012 Oil on Linen 1050 x 750mm $4500
Two seasons before I started painting the trees on this ridgeline a bushfire had passed through. The upright branch of this tree was burnt through in this fire. The over passing branch was burnt by the close proximity of the flames. This produced a very powerful image and metaphor for this Beatitude.
The act of comforting is universally accompanied by an arm over the shoulder. The comforter takes on the grief of the sufferer and empathises with them. The comforter cannot help but be moved in the process of mourning. Sometimes this can also burn as hurt takes hurt. Grief is a shared experience.
The Beatitudes were proclaimed by Jesus as a part of his sermon on the mount as recorded in Matthews Gospel. Jesus addresses over a number of days a large crowd made up of the common people and the poor. On the ridgelines of the Wollemi is found the humble rough barked angophora. It is able to grow in the poorest of soils and thus, if they were human, would enjoy the most magnificent views of this Kingdom on earth.
This painting belongs to the Figure in Landscape series. It is the first in this series to break the portrait format of this series. It is one of four works in the Beatitude series painted on the T3 track out of Mountain Lagoon, NSW.
“Blessed are those who are mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matt 5:4