THE AVATAR
The first work in my Passage series
Initially inspired by a few notes from a Pink Floyd instrumental track, this came to me while floating in a sensory deprivation tank. I was seeking "mental breathing space" and wanted to create a focal point in my home for meditation, a window into another state of mind.
The specific cue was a short section from “The Grand Viziers Garden Party (Entertainment)” on the second disc of Ummagumma. At 1:40 into the piece the low drum sound drops into a sort of semi-percussive drone and an eerie tone plays a haunting slow train of notes that lasts to about 3:12 into the piece.
I’ve been particularly attracted to that spacious and mysterious interlude since I first heard it; whatever I was doing, whenever that piece came on, I would kind of drift into a meditative stasis where I felt totally at peace.
Before my 90 minute float session at Tranquility Tanks, I made a duplicate of that section of the track with a fade in and fade out, then copied several repeats of it to listen to. About 45 minutes into my float time, I saw The Avatar. I was there.
I had to paint it.
This was my first work in the Passage series. I would later use it on the cover for the mass-market edition of The Art of Michael Whelan.
Additional images from THE AVATAR
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I have this piece hanging in my great room. Absolutely beautiful!