Veil #5

For awhile now, I've been working on a series of abstract paintings based on Hubble images of the Veil Nebula which is part of the Cygnus, or Swan constellation. This nebula is the remains of a supernova that exploded between five and eight thousand years ago. What we see now are the wispy leftovers of this explosion. It is a dark place, veiled with bright streams of multicolored light, difficult to see and wonderful to behold....

VEIL #5

My interpretation of this nebula is 18" x 22 1/2" in size. It is a mixed media piece in which I used modeling paste, acrylic paint and collage on gessoed paper. For me, the gold lines and shapes represent the human intrusion into space--into all of nature.

I am very happy that recent repairs to the Hubble telescope will make it possible to capture more of these wonderful images. My painting is a far cry from the original Hubble photos, however. For me, they are only a starting point--a beginning. I hope this piece captures a bit of the feel of that amazing, long ago time when there was a clash of energies and the Veil Nebula was born.