Hello..!
Some projects come together so smoothly they almost lull you into a feeling of ease and satisfaction. They lead you to believe that every creative endeavour will simply fall into place, ‘as if by magic.’
But, as we all know, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
So, it’s with both a sense of completion and relief that we are able to introduce—at long last—the completed From Whispers to Wings triptych… Each piece in this sequence came close to being hurled out of the studio window on more than one occasion, as we battled doubts & questioned our motivations for getting-it-done. But we’re here now and both Ann & I couldn’t be happier with the way this all turned out.
There’s something truly magical about this work. It’s as if we’ve tapped a rich well of imagination, that we think is going to connect with a LOT of you… We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Thank you, as always, for being such an essential part of our story. Your passion and encouragement are the threads that fuel our creativity, urging us to capture more of the beauty and mystery around us. Let our journey together continue long into the future.
With our warmest wishes,
Gary & Ann
We ought to start with the inspiration behind From Whispers to Wings…
Ann & I wanted a way to talk about IDEAS—where they come from, how they find us, and what we ultimately do with them. The concept for this collection took root nearly two years ago, with little more than a hazy notion for a trilogy of paintings exploring the mysterious process of creativity. In a way, the initial vagueness of this idea mirrored the unpredictable journey of inspiration itself—starting with a faint glimmer and gradually becoming something tangible.
With that spark, we began enthusiastically, starting with the first painting, Flutterbies, which debuted in July 2023. In hindsight, this was a touch ambitious. As so often happens, other projects took centre stage, thanks to that misplaced early confidence. And so, Flutterbies (as it was called back then) was left to stand alone—a single piece, missing its companions and the larger story it was meant to tell. Indeed, such was the mis-step, that although the image was left on the website, no prints were ever made for sale. It was as if I left it there as a reminder; little more than an embarrassing placeholder for ‘what-might-have-been’…
Now, it is with a true sense of fulfilment that we can—finally—share the complete collection with you! Like all things Otherwurlde, there is much to explore within this triptych. Each painting reveals another layer of a journey that moves from curiosity through contemplation, ultimately arriving at inspired certainty.
In this Newsletter, we’ll take you through each piece in From Whispers to Wings, sharing the symbolism, the philosophy, and the details woven into this creative journey. Our hope is that this triptych will inspire you to listen for those gentle whispers of your own ideas and follow them as they take flight.
From Whispers to Wings unfolds as a meditative journey through the stages of inner realisation and the timeless challenge of true self-knowledge. Across its three panels—Approach, Arrival, and Ascension—a young woman’s gradual acceptance of a single, elusive truth is revealed in stages, each woven with symbolic fragments that mirror the mental dance of inspiration.
In other words, she traces a path from obscurity toward clarity. From ignorance to enlightenment.
The triptych takes us on that journey, inviting viewers to consider the nature of inspiration itself: how we come to identify and embody an idea until it takes flight; until it truly lives within us.
It all begins with Approach…
Here, the young woman holds the possibility of inspiration as a route to solving a problem, though it remains intangible at this stage. Does she know it even exists? Probably not. Instead, there’s what some call a ‘hunch’ and what others simply call ‘faith’. A simple belief or acceptance that the answer is already there, in some shape or form and is just waiting to be found… Or be lured from within a cloud of butterflies!
Her eyes are closed, as she opens herself up to the possibilities; to the wonder of it all…
Before we move on, a special mention for the blending effect Ann used here. The girl’s beautiful, subtle skin-tones are all thanks to her adoption of the grisaille technique… Perfected in the fine-art schools of Imperial Russia, it achieves such luminous tones through grounding the work with a series of grey-tones before adding the final colours…
Above the woman, flutters a vibrant, shimmering cloud of butterflies (many of them orange & black Monarchs, that featured so prominently in ‘A Great Leap Forward‘). They represent the myriad voices and influences clamouring for her attention; distractions that combine to cloud her vision & judgement. Her journey towards the answer, begins here…
Amongst these brilliant, fluttering distractions, is a single blue butterfly. The key.
And yet… This notion, quietly awaiting discovery, is almost hidden from view.
Frustratingly, this IS the authentic idea. The breakthrough she needs, but it’s obscured by the bustle of the world and the clamour of one’s own mind. Her challenge then, is to switch-off from it all as best she can, in order to find it. To have it seek her out…
What is it about this one blue butterfly that evokes such mystery? Simply put, as it flutters amidst the others, it holds the promise of revelation.
Stop and think, for a moment: how often are our most valuable insights concealed by the loudness of conventional wisdom? In searching for our own ‘hidden butterflies’, can each of us find our way to what is quietly, insistently calling to us?
Answers to our own problems that we just can’t ‘hear’ because of all the noisy distractions? Some that we encounter… Others that we find ourselves, in order to avoid doing the hard work?
But she at least has help in her quest… A small armoured mouse from the Otherwurlde rests on her shoulder, its gaze aligned with her intent. Because it turns out, that when we need help – REALLY NEED help – somehow it always arrives in the most unexpected form… Have you noticed that?
Well, we struggled ourselves with the challenge of how to show that in a painting. Right at the beginning, whilst refining the overall idea for the triptych, someone had the idea of including a mouse, as a way of visualising the notion of – for want of a better phrase – ‘divine inspiration’.
If we know | believe | trust that the idea is there – right there – above our heads, then we couldn’t think of anything more elegant as a solution, than having a little mouse on your shoulder, holding tightly onto a balloon string…
A butterfly-shaped balloon, no less, that’s going to winkle-out the blue butterfly…
Later paintings in the sequence, will show what happens next, but for now, Approach is all about accepting and embracing the mysteries of creation. About having that initial, grounded faith that an answer will come…
And sometimes, that’s all you need…
For the benefit of long-term subscribers, NO: your eyes aren’t deceiving you!
You’re looking at the original starting point for this series, that we showed back in the summer of 2023 and was then called ‘Flutterbies‘. As explained in the introduction however, it has now been renamed to ‘Arrival’ and sits, as it always should’ve been, as the centrepiece in the From Whispers to Wings triptych.
Ann holding the finished piece, back when we both imagined the series would roll-on, in a triumphant haze of free-flowing creativity..!
Bless…
The young woman, content in her stillness and deep in thought has, with the help of the mouse, brought the blue butterfly down to sit on her shoulder. Only now, can she dare to examine it closely; weighing its merits with intention. She is no longer tentative; she accepts its presence and considers its potential. As, perhaps, it’s doing with her.
There are some philosophers & mystics, after all, who believe that ‘ideas’, are themselves little fragments of the subconscious. That we already have the answers within us, but that our busy, busy minds keep us veiled. In Arrival, I’d like to think that at least someone is lifting a veil…
An enduring symbol of both serendipity & inspiration, the iridescent blue butterfly now sits poised, at her shoulder. It has arrived.
The endless dance, between thought and action, can now begin…
But she’s not done… Not yet.
The blue butterfly now sits on her shoulder, but this is just the beginning. As the idea takes hold, there will be new butterflies to find; fresh perspectives and insights that can expand the scope of what’s happening. So that can happen, the cloud of butterflies now sits about her head, like another turban. No longer is it out of reach. Now, the cloud is closer.
The mouse senses it, too. Now nestled within the turban itself, it sits amidst the very cloud.
Inspiration is all-around, it seems. Results without effort; she is ‘in the flow’. A shift has taken place, in which her intimate, reflective work has born fruit. The woman has discerned a pathway to follow, amid a multitude of possibilities.
The mouse’s work is almost done.
With the original idea blossoming, thanks to the cloud of butterflies settled about the woman’s head, the mouse is free to seek-out fresh new directions. So the balloon floats upward once again…
Up, up beyond the cloud. A place beyond the thoughts and excitement that came with the last idea.
It’s time to go away. And think it all up again…
In the final panel, Ascension, the young woman has allowed the blue butterfly not merely to perch upon her shoulder, but to transform her from within. The idea it carried, has become her guiding light and a new source of conviction.
She is BECOMING the idea.
Now her face betrays the contentment – the joy – of being in-simpatico – ‘at one’ with the idea.
The cloud of butterflies is now coalescing, into an intricate pair of blue wings—a physical manifestation of an inner clarity, that has lifted her above the noise of indecision. Each butterfly’s vivid colours transform to electric blue, as they form and reinforce her own acceptance of her chosen idea.
The armoured mouse, having fulfilled its role, departs in peace, lifted away by the butterfly balloon—a messenger moving on to help another seeker elsewhere, another journey to begin anew.
Now the the woman has her own pair of blue wings, maybe she’ll find another mouse and begin a whole new chapter…
Years ago, the legendary golfer Gary Player was once asked for the secret of his great form out on the course. His answer? ‘Turns out, the more I practice, the luckier I get!’
In our case, if we keep looking, the ideas tend to keep coming…
Which leads me to ask: I wonder what YOU might have experienced in your own life? Something related to, or prompted by the artwork you’ve just seen? Have there been times when you couldn’t see the way forward on something that meant so, so much to you? An obstacle that was cleared only by some ‘magical thinking’? Ann & I have both had that. Sometimes apart, sometimes together. Little moments of serendipity that can’t be explained rationally, but which, when they occur, are perfect. Ah, but don’t they gladden your heart?!
So here we are.
The woman’s journey is done. She has looked within and found answers. Perhaps contentment, as well.
As we look upon the complete triptych, it is difficult not to reflect on our own tangled journeys with new eyes: How many ideas hover in our minds, waiting to be found, fully examined, and perhaps even integrated into the very fabric of who we are? For some, inspiration is a fleeting spark; for others, it is a quiet, constant companion. But to embrace an idea fully, as the young woman has, suggests a willingness to quiet the noise of other voices, to trust that what we seek, patiently waiting, is indeed ours to discover.
Each panel offers a different stage of this process—approaching, evaluating, accepting—and encourages us to consider the potential that lies within this progression. Just as she embarks on a journey from uncertainty to confidence, so too do we find ourselves invited to listen for the faint, often elusive voice of our own inspirations. And in so doing, one might find an invitation of sorts here: What might emerge if we, too, committed to following the butterflies’ path, allowing the murmur to fall silent as we heed the whisper of a single, vivid thought?…
Our Signature Prints are available Un-Framed, or quality, solid wood options in
either black or natural oak finish: ideal for staining / painting to suit…
Well, I think that just about wraps this one up…
I’ve got some links down below for you to view the artworks elsewhere on the site; the first half are for our lovely Fine-Art Prints; the second, Ann’s beautiful Originals. Because we’re uncertain whether you’re going to want either individual pieces or the whole triptych, I’m offering both options.
If you invest in the full triptych, I’ve listed a separate bundle in all sizes, with a 15% discount, similar to what you would receive if buying multiple pieces at the Corn Hall…
PLEASE NOTE: Whenever possible, I will bundle Triptych print bundles with matching Edition Numbers on Standard & Signature sizes; prints bought separately will inevitably start to diverge, as people buy different parts of the sequence at different times…
We’re back at the Corn Hall, Cirencester EVERY weekend (Saturdays and Sundays) from now until Xmas… Our stand at the Corn Hall might look impressive these days, but we still struggle for storage. That means we can’t bring everything you might want to see, to every show…
Neither Ann nor myself want to disappoint you, so if there’s anything you’d particularly like to see in-person, PLEASE get in-touch ahead of time and we’ll ensure it’s there!
Thanks for sticking this Newsletter out to the end; we hope that you’re delighted by From Whispers to Wings as much as we are! It’s been a LONG time coming, but we couldn’t be happier with the way it turned-out.
What’s next? As I write this, Ann’s almost done with another entry in our ever-popular ‘Pilgrims’ sequence and then we’re gearing-up for something ambitious.
I can’t close without offering our thanks to you all. Your support (and patience) has been immense over the few years we’ve been on this ride together; we couldn’t do this without you…
