Form and Formless Spirit

Louis Parsons’s astonishing abstract paintings sing the infinite songs of Spirit manifesting on the radiant cusp of form and formlessness – what in more technical integral terms is that frequency of being proper to high subtle archetypes and boundless low causal energetics. Many of the paintings edge towards the monochromatic – as with Surfing the Silence’s glowing whites exploding within shimmering shades of blue. The painting technique is sophisticated, replete with complex weaves of staining the canvas, thin washes, thicker brushwork, and impassioned impasto, such that the worked materials are a symphony in their own right, aligning elegantly with what is being indicated or represented (Release of Vigour). Form, content, color and paint are integral wholes of ecstatic exuberance — a painterly celebration of manifestation in all its glory (Yannick and Sara’s SoulScape).

We are called by this art into these ecstatic ways — and not as only as temporary states but as evermore ways of integrated ordinariness that inform and empower this most precious Life.

Michael Schwartz
December 2012

From the artist:

“As an artist I’m interested in You. The real You.

Lets try an experiment. Feel into who You really are for a moment. Relax into You. Imagine we are holding a conversation and you are telling me all about You.

You may start telling me about what you love, when you feel alive, or some of the rich life experiences you have had. You may end up telling me some of your story.

As you speak, I am using every sensory faculty I can muster to feel into the fullness and freedom of who You really are. Im listening beyond the words you say. I’m stretching out to feel You. I’m also listening to God.

Then, I feel you inside me as a cascade of colour and form: I sense the unique symphony of light and the quality of energy that is you and You alone.

I see how I can sculpt this light in such a way that it reflects the essence of You in a vibrant and alive way. It’s like holding an ever changing crystal kaleidoscope inside me. The more you share of You…. The more I see, the more blanks I can fill in. I sense your dominant structure of consciousness, I sense what states of awareness you have accessed… And what your potential and possibility is…. I see what future You want to create.

We talk, we share. We laugh… We may cry. I want you to feel felt. And when you do, just let me know. Then I’m ready to paint.

As I paint, I hold You inside me. I observe the canvas. Like Michelangelo, I can see the form that needs to be freed from the blank surface. As I work, I reflect on what You have shared about You. My practise is to stay out of the way, and let the paint flow. Occasionally I feel like a Zen swordsman as the colours flash before me. Sometimes the conversation is difficult and challenging…. Sometimes it is easy and effortless. It feels like coming home. Its always fulfilling, always a breath of fresh air. Often I learn something about me too.

Then, the conversation with the canvas comes to a conclusion. Like all good conversations, we don’t end up where we expect. Something fresh and new has emerged. Something beautiful, surprising and alive that is more fulfilling than either of us could have hoped for. It is a snapshot of You. Your unique symphony is frozen in a dance of light in Oil on Canvas. That’s how I paint Your SoulScape.

Imagine feeling into a painting that has been created by You, for You, through me. What would that do for You? For your daily sense of aliveness, presence and creativity? It’s beautiful. Its honest. It’s liberating. It’s inspiring.

All because, You created it. Thank You.”

– Louis Parsons