Ellen Coffin – Three Images

The Dream

Watercolor on paper, April 2006

I painted this after a night and morning of intense dreaming, many images in one long dream starting with an image of me as a child (the little girl in the middle), then a goldfish placed on a pillow to accompany me as I dreamed, and suddenly dreams about religious intolerance, and religious tolerance (a sort of rebirth) watched over by angels. Fast moving and intense, I woke up feeling as if I'd been newly educated/enlightened by an unknown group or energy.

Bear Naked

Watercolor on paper, September 2010

Driving into the Siskyou Forest where we like to walk, my husband and I saw a tiny fluffy bear cub, about the size of a small dog, sitting in the middle of the road. We watched from the car as it rolled about on the sunny road, then made its slow way up the banks into the forest, stopping to tear off handfuls of ripe blackberries along the way, and glancing back at us. This sensational sighting prompted many dreams about bears, which resulted in a long series of paintings (from the dreams) called the Bear Series, still going on. This one was from a dream about feeling the water and solitude of bathing in the forest with bears attending me.

Children of the Bear

Watercolor on paper, August 2010

From dreams concerning magical children who protect all the different species. This young girl was one of many "protector children" for the bears, and I painted several dreams about them.

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