Terry Parshall
As a longtime artist I have learned to trust the impulses and directives received from my unconscious mind. This current series titled, “THE GIRL” has preoccupied my artistic vision for about two years now and I take this path as a gift from my deeper inner self and trust that it will lead me to a more nuanced understanding of myself and of others in these confounding, often difficult, times in which we find ourselves. The subject in this series “The Girl” is on a mission to go somewhere and accomplish something that I as the artist seem to have little control over. She whispers to me subtly in odd moments about where she needs to go next with minor signs and everyday revelations that come to me via music, meditation, while I’m sleeping, reading, or even watching tv. It is then That she tells me where next to send her on canvas or paper. What she is doing there, well, I have no idea. But I suspect that she does and I trust her as she continues her journey. We do not see her face in any of the many works I have done in this series so far. What I know is that she always faces away from us so that she may encounter whatever comes next unflinchingly. She is brave and fearless. She is funny, loving, and possesses an indomitable spirit. Only partly her creator I follow where she leads with brush and pencil in hand awaiting the “event” she wishes me to record to the best of my ability. Some have labeled this path I am on, Magic Surrealism. It is as good a term as any I suppose because I have no idea what to name it. But I know if there is a theme running through The Girl’s adventures it is that of the struggles of all females in a world dominated and poorly handled by men. This is the history of our world; the history of a struggle that begins in childhood and continues to the end of women’s lives. Whatever it is The Girl wants me to see and I understand I hope to grasp eventually. So, I listen for her voice. I paint and draw waiting patiently for answers or until she tells me it’s time for her to move on and leave me behind.
As a longtime artist I have learned to trust the impulses and directives received from my unconscious mind. This current series titled, “THE GIRL” has preoccupied my artistic vision for about two years now and I take this path as a gift from my deeper inner self and trust that it will lead me to a more nuanced understanding of myself and of others in these confounding, often difficult, times in which we find ourselves. The subject in this series “The Girl” is on a mission to go somewhere and accomplish something that I as the artist seem to have little control over. She whispers to me subtly in odd moments about where she needs to go next with minor signs and everyday revelations that come to me via music, meditation, while I’m sleeping, reading, or even watching tv. It is then That she tells me where next to send her on canvas or paper. What she is doing there, well, I have no idea. But I suspect that she does and I trust her as she continues her journey. We do not see her face in any of the many works I have done in this series so far. What I know is that she always faces away from us so that she may encounter whatever comes next unflinchingly. She is brave and fearless. She is funny, loving, and possesses an indomitable spirit. Only partly her creator I follow where she leads with brush and pencil in hand awaiting the “event” she wishes me to record to the best of my ability. Some have labeled this path I am on, Magic Surrealism. It is as good a term as any I suppose because I have no idea what to name it. But I know if there is a theme running through The Girl’s adventures it is that of the struggles of all females in a world dominated and poorly handled by men. This is the history of our world; the history of a struggle that begins in childhood and continues to the end of women’s lives. Whatever it is The Girl wants me to see and I understand I hope to grasp eventually. So, I listen for her voice. I paint and draw waiting patiently for answers or until she tells me it’s time for her to move on and leave me behind.
