Artist Statement: Deer Spirit

Deer Spirit - 16” x 20” Acrylic on Canvas

I had recently read The Path of the Yoga Sutras : A Practical Guide to the Core of Yoga by Nicolai Bachman and was inspired by one of the concepts mentioned in the book. The author wrote about this thing he called our “inner light of awareness,” which is said to be our True Self. This part of us is filled with pure love and light. No matter what is going on in the ever-changing world outside of us, our inner light will always stay the same. This teaches us to let go of what we can’t control. Change is inevitable and there’s no use fighting it. However, we can control how we react and perceive our surroundings.

I chose to paint the deer with an unbothered expression. The elements in the background represent different types of changes. The plants represent growth. The triangle behind the deer shows change from day to night, which represents the passing of time. The gold triangle symbolize endings while the clouds are about movement. As all this is going on in the background, the deer is completely unfazed.