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“As I was creating the various mandala-patterns, I found a lot of dead space in the corners of the canvas. A circular style design will not fill up a square canvas. I decided to create a background of horizontal lines. I placed them at decreasing intervals to give the impression of the lines fading into the distance.” -Jason Arcand
“This painting was done to show the interconnectivity of predator and prey. I like how the Rabbit Spirit is trying to shield the rabbit.” -Jason Arcand
“This one was originally called Mandala of the Hive because of the repeating hexagon used to make the pattern. Mandala-pattern 3 has always reminded me of a crystaline latice. ” -Jason Arcand
“The process of making one of the mandala-patterns is rather hit or miss. I pick a shape, usually based apon whatever is going through my mind at the time. Then I replicate it until it achieves a density that causes my eyes to waver. Number two used to be duo-tone, but I increased the number of colors. The duo-tone seemed too simplistic.” -Jason Arcand
“I had a dream there was two cardinals building a nest over the door of the gym at Indian Oaks Academy. This would have been 2005. The next day I went into work and a cardinal flew at me as I walked to the door of the gym. Ever since I see cardinals everywhere I go. Not a bad traveling fellow as far as I am concerned. This painting is my favorite of the Spirit Masks series.” -Jason Arcand
“I became fascinated by optical illusions as a child. We can blame it on a book called The Wizard of Op. Then in high school I discovered the Op Art movement. Utterly fascinating. A flat static picture undulates with life and movement. Then after high school I discovered mandalas and cave drawings. Here was that same vitality again. It was then I discovered that patterns were the key. A repeating pattern alters perception. As for Mandala-pattern 1, it was originally called Mandala of the Twelve Hoops. The Twelve Hoops referring to the ring of twelve circles that forms the repeating pattern and the twelve months of the year.” -Jason Arcand
“I was born in the year of the rabbit. My mother was also born in the year of the rabbit. An interesting bit of trivia. As for the painting, I achieve the thick textured look by putting the paint directly on the canvas. Squeezed straight from the tube onto the canvas. So if their is any shading or highlight to be put in, I have to put all the necessary colors next to each other. It does require a bit more preparation, but the painting part is more fun. More visceral. If it looked like cake frosting then I knew I was applying it correctly.” -Jason Arcand
”I think this spirit nails the essence of the hawk for me. Firstly, the mask is a perfect abstraction of the hawk’s facial features. The sharp point reminds of the hawk’s razor-sharp beak. The eyes are represented because of the hawk’s excellent vision. Secondly, the undulating neck emerging from the mask give the impression of spread wings. Most of the hawks I have seen have been in flight. Coasting around and around across the country sky. Lastly, the colors in the background remind one of sunrise or sunset. The coming sun connects with the hawk being a solar animal. I would only change the hawk’s pose. A hawk is much more dynamic from the side or angle.” -Jason Arcand
“In this painting I used a different color for the contour lines of the spirit. I like to experiment with my art. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. The red was a better conveyor of spiritual power, especially paired with the white. As for the crow, I really liked how it turned out. I am always happy when I get another chance to use ultramarine blue, as I did in the feathers. The crow reminds me of the crows I fed when I worked at Indian Oaks Academy. Just a really cool animal.” -Jason Arcand
