Ascension Finalist

The form and beauty of the horse, with its complex muscle structure and graceful power, have long fascinated me. In every curve and sinew, I see a story waiting to be told, a quiet echo of strength and freedom captured in each brushstroke. As an artist, I find myself drawn to the profound interplay between physical form and emotional resonance. This fascination has guided my creative journey, allowing me to explore not just the external grandeur of the horse but the symbolic essence it embodies.

My interest in fantasy and imagination began in early childhood, where my mind would wander freely, crafting realms of wonder and myth. Often, my artistic process is unplanned, driven instead by an instinctive connection to the canvas. As I paint, images emerge organically, forming narratives that seem to leap from my subconscious. This spontaneous approach allows me to create work imbued with a "sense of wonder," where each piece holds a unique story open to interpretation.

In this painting, I sought to capture a singular moment of ascension — a horse breaking free from earthly bounds, its wings unfurled, ascending into a sky painted with tumultuous clouds. It is a moment frozen in time, embodying hope, liberation, and a defiant strength against constraint. The horse becomes a symbol of resilience and transcendence, striving toward a realm beyond the tangible.

My cultural and spiritual background has profoundly influenced my artistic vision. Growing up, I heard stories that shaped my beliefs and imagination. Among these narratives, the story of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and the miraculous night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, followed by the ascension to the heavens, left a lasting imprint on me. This tale, rich with symbolism and divine wonder, has inspired me time and again to explore themes of spiritual elevation and the pursuit of the divine.

In capturing these themes, I employed a variety of techniques to bring depth and emotion to the work. The scratch techniques used throughout the painting create subtle variations in texture, evoking the sensation of wind brushing against feathers and muscle. Each mark feels intentional, a whisper of movement that adds to the dynamic energy of the piece. Additionally, impasto brushwork lends the painting a palpable dimensionality, with thick applications of paint catching the light and creating shadows that shift with the viewer's perspective.

The interplay of light and shadow was crucial to conveying the emotional undercurrents of the scene. Soft highlights trace the horse's muscular form, emphasizing its power and grace, while darker tones in the clouds provide contrast, hinting at unseen struggles and forces at play. The sky becomes a stage for conflict and liberation, a tempest through which the horse must rise.

The horse's wings, painted with a meticulously scratched out with fine cloth wrapped around my brush; blends of realism and abstraction, serve as the focal point of the composition. The feathers, each individually rendered, cascade into the surrounding atmosphere, dissolving into the clouds as if merging with the sky itself. This fusion of form and environment mirrors the theme of transcendence, where the physical becomes ephemeral, and the boundaries between earth and sky blur.

Yet, what the viewer sees or feels is not under my control. Art, to me, is a dialogue between creator and observer. While I imbue my work with personal meaning, I believe true art exists in the space where interpretations diverge. Each viewer brings their own experiences and emotions, transforming the painting into a mirror of their inner world.

The painting's surface holds secrets that reveal themselves only upon close inspection. Minor scratch marks and delicate lines, remnants of the creative process, lie beneath the varnish, visible only when viewed from certain angles. These imperfections, far from detracting from the piece, serve as testaments to the artist's hand, a record of the dance between intention and accident.

In the end, this work is a celebration of both control and surrender. The horse, in its moment of flight, embodies the tension between strength and vulnerability, mastery and abandon. It is a reflection of the artist's journey, each brushstroke a step toward understanding not just the subject but oneself.

As I step back and allow others to witness this creation, I am reminded that art is not about dictating meaning but about opening a window to possibility. Whether the viewer sees ascension, hope, struggle, or something altogether different, the painting's purpose is fulfilled in that shared moment of connection.

In this piece, I hope to have captured not just the physical beauty of the horse but the spirit of freedom and wonder that has driven me to paint since childhood. May this work inspire in others the same sense of awe and possibility that led me to create it.