In this being we see united all dualities into one. Male and female, body and spirit, heaven and earth, above and below, fixed and volatile. In Alchemy, this being is called the “Rebis” and is depicted as a two-headed and winged androgyne. It symbolizes the “philosopher’s child” which results from the conjoining of King and Queen.

“That which is Below correspond to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing. And just as all things have come from the One Thing, through the meditation of One Mind, so do all created things originate from this One Thing, through Transformation” — The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus

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Size: 2.5″ x 2.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold leaf, metallic threads, on canvas.

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The lion is called the king of the beast, and the eagle was equally regarded as king of all the birds. As the griffin embodies characteristics of both lion and eagle, he is the monarch of both the heavens and the earth. Although most often seen and associated with mediaeval heraldry, representations of griffins date back thousands of years, as early as ancient Sumeria.

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Size: 2.75″ x 2.75″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, resin on canvas.

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The image of a serpent entwined around an egg is found in the symbolism of such widely-flung ancient belief systems as India, Egypt, European Druids, and Gnostics of the Near and Middle East. It is also known as the Orphic Egg.

“The ancient symbol of the Orphic Mysteries was the serpent-entwined egg, which signified Cosmos as encircled by the fiery Creative Spirit. The egg also represents the soul of the philosopher; the serpent, the Mysteries. At the time of initiation the shell is broke. and man emerges from the embryonic state of physical existence wherein he had remained through the fetal period of philosophic regeneration.” (Manly P. Hall)

Size: 3.5″ x 2.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold pigment, resin on canvas.

In 79 AD, the Roman city of Pompeii was completely buried in ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, then forgotten until it was rediscovered in the mid-18th Century. Many of its citizens attempted to flee but few made it.

This image is a fanciful telling of a fugitive from Pompeii who dove into the sea and was changed by Neptune into an octopus. He now drifts in the depths, dreaming of his former life.

Size: 2.5″ x 3.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, and varnish on canvas.

There is no ink on this one…unless he squirts you.

And there the lion’s ruddy eyes
Shall flow with tears of gold:
And pitying the tender cries,
And walking round the fold:
Saying: “Wrath by His meekness,
And, by His health, sickness,
Are driven away
From our immortal day.

“And now beside thee, bleating lamb,
I can lie down and sleep,
Or think on Him who bore thy name,
Graze after thee, and weep.
For, washed in life’s river,
My bright mane for ever
Shall shine like the gold,
As I guard o’er the fold.”

- William Blake, from “Night”

Size: 2.5″ x 3.75″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, and varnish on canvas.

Radha accompanies Krishna on a stroll through the countryside. He serenades her with his enchanting flute. At Radha’s feet there is a peacock, which is symbolic of courtship.

Size: 2.5″ x 3.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, and gold pigment on canvas.