Now Voyager
2004
36 x 36 in
oil on canvas
Biblical Themes
WALL TEXT
This painting explores themes of longing and desireβspecifically, the heart's desire to know our Maker and the deep longing that draws us to God.
The title, NOW VOYAGER, is taken from Walt Whitman's poem "The Untold Want," which reads:
ππ©π¦ πΆπ―π΅π°ππ₯ πΈπ’π―π΅ π£πΊ ππͺπ§π¦ π’π―π₯ ππ’π―π₯ π―π¦'π¦π³ π¨π³π’π―π΅π¦π₯,
ππ°πΈ, π·π°πΊπ’π¨π¦π³, π΄π’πͺπ π΅π©π°πΆ π§π°π³π΅π©, π΅π° π΄π¦π¦π¬ π’π―π₯ π§πͺπ―π₯.
In the painting, we see a heart with a hand planting a seedβthe Gospelβinto a wound.
The hardware below (a nod to artist Philip Guston) has begun to protect the heart but also to harden it. This is balanced by the fire of God-given passage in the upper right quadrant.
Words such as wound, see, and dream, along with images like the Egyptian pyramid and a full sail, are Biblical symbols meant to evoke free associations that resonate with the poemβs longing and desire for spiritual rebirth.