Page 40 - cn - The Painted Garden Highgrove studio draft -06-10-2024
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The private Sanctuary of His Majesty the King is a retreat for contemplation and spiritual perspective, a place envisioned
by the King. Set within the Arboretum and surrounded by nature in all its seasonal garments invites the feeling of total
connectivity. It is this aspect of sacred manifestation through the sacred ground and humankind that acts as a mirror of
Divine Creation.
This ‘Alter– Realist’ composition relates the structure of the Sanctuary with its spiritual purpose and surrounding transient
nature as one presence.
The doorway has an interior illumination that alludes to the Sanctuary’s sanctified space, this is created by the integrated
light through the two stained glass windows seen from the east side. I then reconfigured to form a mandala that also relates
to the stone inset mandala on the entrance ground space.
The stone pillars dissolve towards the ground, suggesting that whatever form, all is one and reduces to elemental light
energy—the light radiating forth from the doorway.
The inscription carved on the lintel {Lighten Our Darkness We Beseech Thee O Lord} is an extract from the third evening
Collet, ‘for aid against all perils’; reminds us of our human condition and actions, that we are collectively an integral part
of the Universe and its dynamics.
The Sanctuary is based on sacred geometry, was devised by Professor Keith Critchlow and created from a design by
Charles Morris.
Alter Realism
The Sanctuary - Sacred Ground
The Painted Garden Highgrove Afternoon Light—Arboretum
En Plein Air Oil on panel 20 x 30 inches
Studio Oil on Canvas 30 x 40 inches
