Cosmic Counterpoint is a painting of Christine’s elder son, Christopher, when he returned home for a Christmas visit. He had left England as a proper young gentleman, a recent graduate from an English boarding school, and after attending university in the United States for one and half years, returned as a “hippie”. Although only on a short two week visit, Christine felt the need to immortalize the moment of this transformation. Being somewhat a free spirit herself, she embraced Christopher’s new appearance, philosophy and expanded approach to the world.

The painting is also a departure from her earlier portraits, as it is the first to have the subject backed and surrounded by pertinent symbols. I’m not sure exactly how this happened, but I think it’s the result of the synergy of working on the painting with Christopher and the freedom of just painting a portrait for herself, and not as a conventional commission or for a prospective sale, like so many other portraits at this time in her career.

One of the most striking things on viewing the painting is the pose, which is very characteristic. Christine was particularly proud of getting the realistic perspective, or foreshortening, required to show Christopher’s very long legs in such a compressed space; along with the very natural drape of the wrists and hands and the direct gaze, it makes for an arresting pose. Next, one takes in the striking clothing, which is a very real representation of the alterations Christopher had made to his formerly conventional style. The prominent bands of complimentary color in the background represent the human aura that we were all interested in after reading some of the Theosophical Society writings. Overlaying that, one can see the large astrological symbol for Taurus and peeking out from behind the aura is a rendition of the ringed planet Saturn. Its astrological representation of one’s karma, justice, life lessons and responsibilities figured prominently in Christopher’s Natal chart. Of course, one couldn’t call oneself a hippie without a suitable water pipe or hookah as an aid to one’s spiritual explorations. In the upper right is a representative of his spirit guide. He had just finished reading all the books by Lobsang Rampa and was quite taken by them. Next to that is the mantra “Om mani padme hum” written in Tibetan, even though I think the intention was for it to be written in Sanskrit. Additionally, in the upper left is the Eye of Horus to represent Christopher’s study of the myths and legends of ancient Egypt. Around his neck on a leather string, is a simple brass Sun symbol that relates to his interests in the Inca culture. Overall, one can see that he had a fairly eclectic collection of spiritual beliefs and areas of study, a real reflection of the times.

Preliminary Sketches

Below are a series of quick sketches that I came across and immediately recognized as my brother Christopher. Along with them is a photograph I found that was made at the same time.

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