I absolutely love this painting. Why is it some artists take centre stage, create glamour and noise and yet others go buy quietly unnoticed, hardly unseen or understood, and because of this they do not take centre stage. Cecil Collins for me is beyond visionary and way before his time it would seem, and already connecting to his own inner wisdom
William Anderson wrote, ‘his central theme is great happiness, the paradise we come from for which we always seem to yearn in our innermost being, and which is restored to us through the creative imagination.’
Our creativity, our imagination, allow us the return to ‘self,’ the very place where our inner most beauty and wisdom derive from. Through creativity, without judgement and control, we can access the great wisdom from within. The wisdom that connects us all.
Cecil suffered rejection and neglect, that is typical of secular culture, that has exiled the soul and rejected the spirit, thus banishing beauty, wonder and awe that life allows us.
His painting, ‘the cells of night.’ The head depicts the psyche, highlighting the torment we feel when we are not connected on this inside and to our ‘self.’ ( have you ever felt like this? I know I have.) It depicts infinity of our cells and the rebirth we face when we decide to turn into our own life. It makes us aware of the smallness of our ego, our roles, against the limitless universe. Cecil’s painting depicts the yearning of the return to self, the place where divine wisdom arrives.
Cecil swam against the tide of a secular, industrial society that he felt had exiled the soul and banished wonder. Because Cecil rejected the dominant materialist values, his work struggled to find mainstream commercial success for much of his life.
Even within the academic and artistic community, his deeply spiritual, mystical philosophy often left him isolated or ignored by younger, avant-garde peers.
Visionary British artist Cecil Collins suffered from rejection and neglect, both deeply rooted in his childhood and in his art. His early life was marked by physical and economic hardship, while his spiritual, mythic artwork was largely ignored by a modern, materialistic culture that often rejected his visionary values.
In life when we are turning in and discovering our ‘self’ it can feel like we are swimming agains the tide. Going backwards, or letting go of the material and emotional obsessions in life, and we find we do not belong in the norm. But turning in for me is a place of letting go. It does not always mean letting go of the material life and sitting in a dessert in a loin cloth, although there is nothing wrong with that I might add.
The letting go of the material and mainstream is more about not making it your obsession, not your sole focus in life. When we turn in, we find our self, and wealth or material are no as longer important as they were or they are not your focus, because our ‘self’ becomes the main obsessions or focus. Our joy, purpose and spirit are derived from this very place, but wealth and possessions can still be in your life but not in the same way. There is not an attachment to them, and there certainly is not as much STUFF and clutter in your life. It doesn’t matter if wealth and possessions come and go, because you are not defined by them and it does not define who you are, it is not your identity.
However having a vision of your ‘self’ that nobody else can see, can be beyond lonely or different, and trying to explain or get others to accept can be futile. The only person that will know your vision is you and staying on the path to YOU can be challenging at times, especially if others are not on that path, or on a different path.
If they are not on the path to letting go or the path of discovery, it can mean you can go in separate directions for the sake of your ‘self’. But knowing how to do this with compassion, no guilt, and finding your way is a journey in itself.
If I interviewed Cecil today I would ask him to explain the painting in his words. Hearing his soul and his journey. But knowing I can already see it in his art is already the story. We all have a story and a painting inside of us. We are all able to connect to this place within us that connects to the larger vision and connects us all.
On a recent car journey, I was thinking about Cecil and his painting, and how visionaries are overlooked, when they are arrive before their time, when they are in a space that is not the norm, like so many of the women visionaries, and how at times they are not accepted and how unfair this seems.
They are the brave souls forging a new way for the rest of us and at the time they are rejected, made to feel different or even outcasted and yet beyond the grave their vision comes to fruition and they are not here to accept the acknowledgment for such great bravery, for going against the norm and staying on their path to discovery. For challenging the status quo.
But these visionaries do not need gratification, they do not need praise, because their compass is their drive, their bravery to put their head up from the parapet and to challenge the status quo, does not come from ego, it does not come from a need to be wealthy or a need for fame, it comes purely and solely from the need to connect to the ‘self,’ with purposeful joy. But this journey this bravery can take them to a dark place to find the very vision. A place where light and dark exists side by side in perfect harmony.
The journey that we take inwards we do, not because we need gratification, or applaud or wealth and money, it is because we find ourself in a place that yearns for more connection, joy and wisdom that only our ‘self’ can provide. The head in Cecil’s picture shows the torment that we face when we reach this place in life, when the outer wealth and distraction of life no longer satisfy us and the confusion and torment that we feel, drives us to search for more. Not more stuff, but a different way. A way that give us more freedom, more joy, more love and more connection.
It was on this car journey, as I focused on Cecil Collins and his bravery and story, that a van appeared in front of me with the biggest capital lettering I have ever seen on a vehicle.. It was like it was shouting at me, and it simply said COLLINS.
So be mindful of visionaries in your life that are forging a new way in life… YOU, your children, your partners. You may not understand them, you may not get them, but if they are forging a new way to ‘self,’ then you have to allow them space and time to discover their brilliance. We all have a brilliance, we just have to discover it. And remember you too may have a story that may need to be told through your art. Love on the inside is that place. Find your home and belong, don’t wait until beyond the grave. This is your life, here in this moment, not the other side.
Not only was this sign a connection and mirror of my thoughts, it was also a massive reminder for me to remember just that. The word not only related to Cecil but it was a reminder for to me to honour those around me too, who are forging their own way and a reminder for me to trust my own wisdom, and those that are on their journey, when I may not understand their path to discovery. I can however still walk the path with them, and marvel in their discoveries, and their wisdom and their awe without knowing anything.
‘The only true wisdom, is knowing we know nothing, and there is a greater wisdom beyond us.’
Loti (Low-tie*) teaches you to know nothing, trust your inner wisdom, embrace your divine feminine, breaking free from exhaustion, embracing a life of passion, creativity, and purpose, helping you to follow your divine intuition and wisdom, to become the visionary in your life.
So remember visionaries who are turning up every day, consistently to follow their path. They do not need praise, but they do need recognition, not rejection and ridicule. A lesson for us all.
Not only did Cecil make a discovery but the wisdom in one painting alone contains so much.. The cells at night. Read my blog on what happens to our cells at night. You might find it regenerating. Sorry I couldn’t resist.
Love sharon x
I love these moments together.
PS the ‘Cells of night,’ can be found at the Tate modern in London. And if you want to be the visionary in your life and find your wisdom and clarity, and find your peace, check out love on the inside. Be at the centre of your life.
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