SHAMAN'S DREAM

Mixed Medium    20" X 30 1/4"    

       This painting is a bit of satire the artist enjoys when comparing a shaman to a priest.
While a shaman derives his spiritual authority from a mystical experience,
a priest receives his authority from the Church. Here you see what appears to be a
one-sided exchange in the center of the painting where the shaman’s dream begins.
The humble shaman passes a bag of relics to the powerful pope. 
The Church has always been fond of relics, especially bones of saints from their tombs.
Everything on the canvas seems to rotate around these two figures.
Out of that exchange of relics perhaps the painter thought about the magic or mysteries
of religion and iconic images began to spread on his canvas.
Half of the painting is dark and threatening. Perhaps the claw-like hands are Satan’s,
while the Dove on the other half represents goodness.
It is possible the shaman is dreaming of the future of religion.
Ringstaff paints dark backgrounds for glazing objects and to set them in space.
He plays with darks against light to build form while it enables him to focus on color.
Under his mastery, the dark backgrounds with many shades of paint
create a feeling of depth and atmosphere.