“Sky Dancer” – a story of angst and inspiration

“Sky Dancer” – buy original here ) and prints available

This story begins when I was inspired to slowly dance my way through the labyrinth in a local chapel. I was the Sky Dancer – a name I used to call myself decades ago.

The music moved me. My joy moved me. I felt so light and happy as I gracefully floated my way to the centre. There, I stayed, in a yoga child pose, expressing my thanks and reverence for all that is before slowly dancing my way back out again.

That’s how “Sky Dancer” was born – to celebrate the labyrinth as a path of elation.

Like many of my figures, she’s part physical and spiritual energy, with floating qualities.

I wanted her to embrace the moon with her romantically long flowing skirt and have her hair streaming in the evening breeze.

I put sacred geometry and composition rules to work, sizing her so that her head was at the sweet spot in the golden rule (rule of thirds – yellow lines) on both the horizontal and vertical axes.  I also wanted her S-curved body angled to follow the line from the bottom corner to the half mark (green line).  And her hair would flow from the other half to the quarter mark (violet line).

This was all very exciting!

Then, one morning not two weeks after I’d finished her, I opened an email newsletter by the world-renowned artist Rassouli.

“Born Free” by Rassouli

My jaw dropped. My heart sank. I started crying in sadness and fear.

It looked like I had copied his work! I couldn’t believe it!

That month’s Rassouli featured print, was of “Born Free”, a painting I’d obviously come across at some point, inspiring me to my core. It came rising up to the surface of my consciousness when I wanted to translate my feelings into design. Either that, or we’d both tapped into the same Source of inspiration…

Before I started my art studies, art was a personal spiritual practice. I was rarely moved to look at other artists’ work.

I fell in love with Rassouli’s art about 7 years ago when a classmate at the University of Saskatchewan shared it with me . I later signed-up for his workshop near Assisi, Italy in 2014, but it was cancelled.

After the shock of seeing his “Born Free” subsided, I took his image into Photoshop, flipped it, superimposed it, and compared it with mine. Even the angle of the arms is similar, but my figure is proportionately shorter.

I didn’t know what to do. Should I pull my painting off the market? Was it unintentionally violating copyright laws?

I’m not sure if it was fear or Spirit that moved me, but I I reached out to Rassouli in an email.

I didn’t want my Sky Dancer to infringe on his art!

I can’t tell you how relieved I was to get his reply, which he later gave me permission to quote:

Dear Dominique,

I am quite touched by your beautiful letter of how you have been impacted by my art, the effect on your painting, and your respect and honoring of my creative images to be willing to give yours up.

I congratulate you on your fabulous art and defiantly encourage you to post it on your website and social media. The story by itself is a great description of what art can do.

It is a beautiful example of how inspiration seeds another painting altogether, but something sparked the beauty of the movement in you.

Love & Light,

Rassouli

I am moved to tears once again just sharing this story with you – but this time they are tears of humbleness and happiness. OK, vulnerability too …

Muses invite us to the dance floor. We are all touched by inspiration. Sometimes, we even receive similar visions for us to translate through our very being.

This all happened on the morning I was about to start my final labyrinth painting, a 4 x 6-foot piece that incorporates all 5 smaller labyrinth designs (including Sky Dancer) into one.

So you can just imagine how relieved I was that my email reached him, and that he took the time to so lovingly reply within hours. Thank you Rassouli.

I was freed from my angst to continue as planned!

So yes, “Sky Dancer” is for sale!

The original is different from the prints as she’s been painted with a special “interference paint” that changes her colour depending on the angle of the light. So straight on she looks almost white, but becomes iridescent blue, violet and gold as you walk by her.

• Title: Sky Dancer – SOLD
  Year: © 2019
  Size: 18 “ x  24“ (45.72 cm x 61 cm)
  Artist: Dominique Hurley
  Materials: Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
  Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
•  The painting comes with a soft paintbrush that you can use to move your way through this Chartres style labyrinth.

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