Red Region Inferno

Skull F%#$

Yep… that is the title. Or maybe I should say- one of the titles.
Another working title I had was Fuck Face.
I had  a bad week.
No… A bad month.
“Hell”…. I felt at the moment it was a bad life.

We all go through those times.
At least I was capable of creating something beautiful while venting this time.

Skull Fuck ~ AKA ~ Fuck Face

I guess it is kinda like what would have come about if another artist peeked into my mind and tried to paint a still life from what he saw inside.

Sure the primary subject is a skull that resembles a set of red-ish purple balls with a very phallic looking tongue sticking out.
Sure that tongue is a bit tied (though loosely) with some vine-ish floral that resemble someones vagina a bit and the whole thing is set within a colorful array of light and dark shit tones… but still – I made it pretty.
Life was pretty.
It was bright.
It held beauty.
Even when it was hell.

Is there something to be learned from this creation of mine?
Yep… though I didn’t know it at the time.

I was painting angry, and I was painting sad.
When I finally finished this painting I really hated it.
“Fucking Ugly”
Then some time past… and I saw the beauty in it again.
Just like life.

Now – Rather than something ugly and full of lies… I see something colorful and erotic.
The dark exists, and so does the light.
Nothing changes much in life except our perception of it.

What is good or bad is often only how we perceive it.

Let us all keep our eyes… and our minds open.

There is a Spanish proverb that reads:
“Where there is love, there is pain.”

Is there any greater truth?

To quote William Shakespeare:
“The courses of true love never did run smooth.”

Yes, indeed… love hurts.
We have all felt that side of love at one point or another I think.
Like fire however… we are drawn back to it.
We seek love, need love, pray for love, and because we know it’s dangers..
we fear it.

This painting was part of my Red Region series.
It was done with a predominate red theme and draws it’s style from the world of tattooing.

The Love Hurts painting from the tattoo art inspired Red Region paintings series.

This painting (Like all the first Red Region paintings) was done with acrylics on canvas.

The funny part is that while painting this I had a fit of nostalgia and broke out my Hair Of The Dog cd and played it pretty much the entire time I was painting.

Here are the lyrics… Go ahead and sing out loud.
Life is always better when we sing.
So don’t hold back!

Love hurts, Love scars, Love wounds and mars
Any heart not tough or strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud, it holds a lot of rain
Love hurts, Ooo-oo Love hurts

I’m young, I know, But even so
I know a thing or two – I learned from you
I really learned a lot, really learned a lot
Love is like a flame It burns you when it’s hot
Love hurts, Ooo-oo Love hurts

Some fools think of happiness, blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
They’re not foolin’ me
I know it isn’t true I know it isn’t true
Love is just a lie made to make you blue
Love hurts, Ooo-oo Love hurts

(Insert some sweet guitar here)
I know it isn’t true I know it isn’t true
Love is just a lie made to make you blue
Love hurts, Ooo-oo Love hurts

Yep… Nazareth rocked it with that album!

I have been into yoga for a while.
4 years-ish, with many breaks because of laziness.
That isn’t long, but it is long enough to have a really good base.
Some of the poses that I should have down however… elude me.
Scorpion Pose is one of those.
I attempt it maybe once or twice a week when I am practicing regularly, and can never get it just right.
Oh-well… It is the journey that counts in yoga.
The learning, the attempting, the working for mastery.

Yoga has worked it’s way into my art big time.
Not just poses and asanas (like we have here) but the way of yoga. It is amazing what one can do when the mind is clear.
This painting however is based on a pose. A pose that is strong. A pose that takes balance, concentration, strength, and flexibility. A pose that produces huge amounts of heat in the body if held for long.
You will sweat!

Scorpion

The Scorpion Pose (Vrschikasana)When done correctly will make your body  resemble a scorpion, tail arched above the head ready to sting. In Sanskrit, Vrischika means scorpion.

Scorpion pose makes the muscles of hands and arms very strong, as the entire weight of the body is to be balanced on the hands. Your wrist will gain  power and stability with regular practice of this pose.

Scorpion pose also works the abdominal muscles in a big way. Strong abdominal muscles are important for almost every aspect of life.

Along with working the abdominal muscles, scorpion pose helps in keeping your spine flexible and more elastic.
Not only will a more flexible spine reduce your chances of injury throughout life… it makes you actually look more supple. You can read that as “looking sexier!”

Vrishikasana involves the strength of almost all the muscles of your body.
So if you practice it on a regular basis you will benefit in pretty much every area including mental concentration, memory, mood , and energy levels.

I do NOT recommend you try this pose on your own the first time.Scorpion pose is a medium level yoga pose… so you should have a good base of yoga practice before you attempt it.

Note that I say attempt. Yoga is about the journey. You need not do this pose perfectly to gain it’s benefits.
As I already mentioned… I have been working towards getting it down for a couple years now and have not quite gotten it.
You do need to do it safely however to prevent injury.

I am not going to give instructions on how to perform this pose, and I do not recommend you look up instructions as to how to get into this pose because it is very important to first learn it from a qualified instructor.

Namaste