Ye realms, yet unreveal’d to human sight,
Ye gods who rule the regions of the night,
Ye gliding ghosts, permit me to relate
The mystic wonders of your silent state!

–Virgil, Aeneid

On Monday, I showed the painting to the right as a Work-In-Progress in the stage where it began fully showing itself. I liked where it was at that point and didn’t want to venture far from the feeling I was getting from it. I determined that I wanted to stay within the red tones and hold back on moving out into other colors.

Felt something very moody, almost Mystic, in those tones. As though the Dusk represented something more than the sun descending behind the horizon.

I can’t say exactly what it might mean or symbolize. Sometimes there is something satisfying in simply bathing in a mood without knowing the meaning behind it, in just accepting the mystery of the moment and resting within it.

This might be one of those pieces that does that for me. Only time will tell. I need to sit myself in that chair for a bit longer to take it all in.

Then I’ll know. Well, maybe. Who ever really knows?

Here’s a favorite Van Morrison song that I believe goes well with this painting which I am calling Mystic’s Dusk. The song is Into the Mystic and this version is from a 2007 performance from Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit. It’s hard to live up to the original but this is a fine rendition.