Portal Keeper - Original Painting

20x24" Acrylic on stretched canvas

With the wisdom of an owl, she watches carefully. With the determination of a goat, she embraces the challenge. With the courage of a tiger, she embraces her own power. With the grace of a mermaid, she dances with the waves of emotion. She rests upon her throne, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A warrior, a lover and an observer, she never takes interference in human matters lightly. Her blow opens up a portal in your heart making you painfully aware, maybe for the first time, of the vastness of the love and compassion that connects you to everything.

The idea of “Portal Keeper” came from my partner’s Alebrije tattoo which includes his own power animals. Owl, Goat, and Cat. I played around with some sketches and added a mermaid tail to bring more of me into the creature. Owl is a symbol we both resonated with from childhood and the rainbow tiger, mermaid tail and celestial owl all felt like inner child imaginary friend dreams coming true. The painting process was very intuitive to allow it to be what it wanted to be and to communicate with me. She told me that she is a Portal Keeper. I’m most interested to find out what that means to the viewer.