Interior Life

2015 © Sue Ellen Parkinson

Original, Framed – Acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”

SOLD

Prints – 13”x19”

$55

I recently discovered this painting that I had done years ago. I had stuck it away in my shed. It was a study for a painting of St. Hildegard. Looking at it anew, I decided it was worthy of resurrection. It's titled, "Interior Life,” and seems to capture something important about Hildegard’s spirit. Sparrows are a symbol of joy, simplicity, creativity, friendship, protection and productivity. As a spirit animal, the sparrow symbolizes self–worth and higher ideals. Hildegard always gives me hope and inspiration. When I wonder, if we, as humans, can transcend the trauma in our lives, I’m reassured when I remember Hildegard. Her family tithed her to the church at the tender age of eight, at which time, she was literally bricked into a cell. She lived there as an anchorite for decades. In spite of, what must have been, a traumatic childhood, she gave the world so much. Music! Medicine! Her marvelous visions and writing! In spite of everything she endured, she celebrated the glory of this life through her art.