Painting & Drawing by
Iain Lowe

	'Ellen, The Lady of the Trackways' Ellen or Elen is an ancient solar Celtic Goddess, She appears in the Mabinogion (a collection of Welsh folk tales). Ellen means light, she is known as Ellen of the Ways which once referred to the roads and highways, but now is symbolic of ley lines which form the energy matrix of the land. She represents the spirit within the land and in Wales many holy wells were dedicated to Her. Offerings to Ellen: Acorns Feathers Flowers Incense offering for Ellen: 2 parts Frankincense 1 part Copal 1 part Dragons blood 1/2 part red Sandalwood 1/2 part Cinnamon 8 drops orange oil
	'Niamh' Niamh of the Golden Hair (pronounced Neeve) Her name means Heavenly. She carries the apple of eternal youth that always remains whole even when eaten from, also a silver fringed apple bough. Niamh is the daughter of Manannan mac Lyr the sea God. She took the hero Ossian to her home in Tir na Nog on her magic horse that crossed land and sea. One of the great Celtic love stories. She is Goddess of eternal dreams and aspirations. To achieve Her is death in this world. She may bring the gift of poetry or madness.
	'An Fheille Bride' The title is Gaelic for the Festival of Bride or Brighid, this is the pagan festival celebrated on Feb 1st. The origins of this work are from a very strong visualisation that came to a close friend. She is a witch of an inherited tradition and a gifted seer. Brighid in the painting is as she described her to me. Brighid has always been special to me and I wanted to create a painting that would express my love and devotion to Her. I have included some of the symbolism associated with Her. The Snowdrops symbolising Brighid as Goddess of Spring, Rowan as Her sacred tree growing through blossom to fruit in the red berries known in Gaelic as Caora Teine or Fire Sparkle. She carries a Rowan wand from which the sun radiates, dried Rowan berries entwine Her wand and decorate Her neck, she also wears a crown of Rowan. Brighid is Lady of the shores. The outer border is taken from the landscape around Rowbrook Farm on Dartmoor which has a very special meaning for me. Showing dawn and dusk, between the worlds. The snake is one of Brighid's sacred creatures. The moon is in Her maiden phase, also symbolising spring, moon crowned Brighid of the undying flame.
	'Daughter of Pisces' The original dates from 1988, it is A1 size, watercolour, pen ink and 22ct burnished gold. Painted as a commission, for a Piscian. Undines (mermaids) have long fascinated me, I also recollected that one of the descriptions of the Goddess within the earth, also the sea Goddess described Her as a beautiful black entity with a fishes tail. ('The Rose Cross and the Goddess' by Gareth Knight).
	'Solstice' The original is quite small in watercolour and 22ct burnished gold. It was painted for the winter solstice, the cosmic Goddess with the sun and moon her gift of life. The same painting will work for the summer solstice.
	'Brighid' Brighid or Bride, has been loved and worshiped in the British Isles for thousands of years. Her name means fiery arrow, she is in the Celtic tradition, the female counterpart of Lugh Lamhfada the sun god. She is half Tuatha de Dannan and half Formorian thus personifying the balance between light and dark. She is deity of hearth and home, the force of growth upon the land, sacred to the tutelary arts, poetry, music, the muse, especially sacred to all women and chilbirth. Many wells and streams are sacred to Her, the Christians made Her a saint. Glastonbury and the Isle of Avalon has particular associations with Her. The original painting Brighid is in Ontario, Canada. It is pen ink and watercolour, with burnished 22ct gold. The centre of the picture is set looking out of the circle at Arbor Low in Derbyshire, the plants and flowers were all seen on August 2nd 1989, I have inluded several Celtic and Goddess symbols, the Roebuck, the Lapwing that carries the message and riddle, the Unicorn, the Hare and the Bee. The outer border set in a place called Millersdale is also in Derbyshire. This contains the sun and moon in balance symbolising the balance of masculine and feminine, in the river is the sacred Salmon and the Hazel nuts of wisdom. Offerings to Brighid Snowdrops Spring flowers White candles Incense for Brighid Benzoid Vanilla Jasmine
	'Corn Goddess' She has many names inluding Tailte Goddess of the first grain and Her festival is Lughnassad or Lammas, August 1st. The original painting is pen ink, watercolour and 22ct burnished gold. The solar zodiac and lunar year encircled together. The painting was a commission for a wedding present in 1988.
	'After the Solstice' This painting is in oil and dates from 1986, sadly I do not know of its current whereabouts, I sold things in those days for peanuts. It took Richard at Juice a lot of work to get a usable image from the sole negative. A lot of people seem to like this one, many think it is Glastonbury, it is in fact based on the Weaver Hills in north Staffordshire. This is also a sacred place, I stood there the day after the winter solstice in 1985 I could see the sun as a disk through misty cloud, the landscape seemed charged. I felt the Goddess within the earth stir slightly in Her sleep.
	'Goddess of the Western Isle' The Goddess of the Western Isles is a deity of great wisdom and mystery, one of the most ancient of forms of the Goddess in our islands. She is the guardian and mistress of the underworld. It is through Her that we must pass to seek rebirth after death. She has great power but also much love and understanding. We feel her touch when the wind blows from the northwest, hear her voice in the waves of the western ocean. She has a secret name, is a changer of shape, her power is greatest at Samhain. To love her is to discover a profound sense of the real beauty in the mystery of the wheel of the seasons, creation and the great Goddess. The constellation of stars associated with the Goddess of the Western Isle is Corvus...
	'Thetis' I am each spring flower that touches your heart, Bright spirit of new growth and rekindled hope, Gentle breath of the first new May morning, Quickening of new life created. Am I not beloved by both sun and moon, Washed in the rains of April. In the clear dawn as you turn to the light Hear me, the bubbling spring in the chalice, Laughing, darting through a mountain stream. I am the music of the elements, My chords and scales, delicate as fragile petals Yet I have the strength of oak growing deep within me. For you who love me I share your past, Feel your joy, pain and know your journey, I walk in your dreams and know all that is to come. My promise never broken is this seasons green truth. My blessing is each new born child. Seek me as the living spring Who am Morgan of that ancient place I have other names in other times beyond the sacred hill. Love me as you have being, never losing the first knowing. Touch me as the May blossom you gather Held close to your heart in my spells true intent. Know now, I am the rainbows end. Thetis whose special time is Beltaine is the second of my series of paintings of the Morgans of Avalon. The Morgans are nine powerful Goddesses in their own right who come together as a sacred sisterhood to serve the Great Lady. Three maidens, three mothers, three crones. Offering to Thetis Any flowery incense Any spring flower
	'Onagh' Onagh, (pronounced Oona) is a being who appears usually to mortals as a lady of incredible beauty, She has golden hair with red highlights that reaches to the floor, her eyes are blue as cornflowers, with a depth that cannot fail to haunt. She may wear a gown of blue with her hair ornamented with primroses. Onagh is the consort of Finnvarra (Finbheara) the Faerie King of Knockma. Onagh, a Queen of the Tuatha de Dannan is herself a very sexual being, who has been known to lie with mortal men. She is very powerful, a great shape changer, she may appear with dark hair or as a she wolf. Little is written about Onagh, the great Celtic writer and mystic Fiona Macleod writes longingly of Oona of the dark eyes... Offerings to Onagh Primroses Sweet Peas Oil for anointing candles for Onagh 3 drops sweet pea oil 2 drops geranium oil 1 drop cardamom oil 1 drop camomile oil mix well and anoint candles from centre outwards Incense to honour Onagh 1 part violet 2 parts primroses 1 part rose petals 1/2 part olive leaves 3 parts frankincense 1 drop Geranium oil 2 drops lavender oil
	'Caer Ibormeith' Angus mac Og, sometimes Aengus or Oengus,is the Celtic God of youth and love,the son of the Dagda and Boann Goddess of the River Boyne in Ireland. In sleep he was visited by a beautiful otherworld being Caer Ibormeith (her name means Yewberry Castle). Angus fell deeply in love with her, his love was so great he could not bear to live without her, but though he searched the whole of Ireland he could not find her. Eventually with the help of the Faerie King Bodb, Angus discovered his beloved at Loch Bel Dracon (Dragon Mouth) at Samhain with 149 other girls in the form of a swan, Caer being a great shape changer. Angus himself also took the form of a swan to be with his love, he then returned with her to Bruig na Boinne, (New Grange in Meath). Angus and Caer had a daughter Maga who wedded both Ross the Red and Cathbad the Druid. She was grandmother to the great Ulster heroes Cuchulain and Conall of the Victories. It is little known that there was also a son born to Angus and Caer, he was named Aeson meaning 'he who was meant to be'. Perhaps Caer still walks between the worlds, ever changing, ever constant, sometimes encarnate on earth in human form, sometimes in Faerie as the beautiful de Danaan lady who enchanted Angus. Some still seek her as mistress of sleep and weaver of dreams. This pencil study is very dear to me as I have a special regard for the story of Caer.
	'Gwyn Ap Nudd' The white son of darkness, at Samhain in his antler head dress he leads the wild hunt out from Yynis Whittrin the Isle of Glass, better known as Glastonbury Tor. With his red, black and white hounds and his hooded riders Gwyn as Lord of war and death gathers the souls of the dead, leading them through the underworld to rest and rebirth. A powerful perhaps frightening image. There are however many aspects to this complex deity, he should not be thought of as evil or demonic as the christian view portrays him. His role as Lord of death is a crucial part of the sacred cycle. Gwyn has many other faces, he is a Lord of the forests a being of great knowledge and wisdom, he has great concern over the fate of the earth. Gwyn is the lover of Creudlad, he is Lord of the Tylwyth Teg [Welsh Faeries]. It is this persona I have chosen to portray, he beckons you where the veil is thinnest to follow him into another place.
	'The Dark Lady' This painting shows an Afro Carribean lady in 17th century dress with the crescent moon. It dates from 1985 and was linked to a fascination with Shakespeare's Dark Lady Sonnets, I also see her aspect of Black Isis.
	'How Taillte Came To Tara' and 'Homage To Taillte' Two semi abstract pieces: 'How Taillte Came To Tara' and 'Homage To Taillte'. Designs done in 1999 for a semi abstract painting not yet completed.

Artist Details Artist: Iain Lowe Bio: I am an artist that has lived all his life in Staffordshire, England, but has dreamed of many magical places. My current work has its roots in romantic, spiritual imagery first explored in the late 1960s. As a student I came to love the romantic works of the Pre-Raphaelites and their circle. In those days (it is still the case to this day in English Art Schools) anything hinting of romance, enchantment or myth was a no go area for students who wanted to be taken seriously or pass their courses. I have since found I was not alone in doing one set of work to pass my course and my own romantic work almost in secret. From 1983 onwards a clientele built up for oil and watercolour works of Celtic, Faerie and other mystical themes, this work is now in collections in Britain, Canada and USA. 2001 marked the first public showing of my work for over thirteen years when I exhibited as a guest of the British Visionary Artists Group. For the first time my work has also become available in print. Reflecting a personal spiritual journey, the imagery perhaps owes something to my maternal Scottish highland ancestry. Subject matter deals with the spiritual and mythological subjects I have come to love, especially Celtic deities, the wonderful stories of the Celtic age and the world of Faerie. My watercolour style combines romantic figures, Celtic influenced decorative surfaces and symbolism with semi abstract treatment of natural forms. The whole being intersected with an angular almost grid structure. This technique has been extended into a treatment of landscape where the intricate patterns come together to form a whole, reflecting a holistic view of landscape and indeed of nature. My early training as a manuscript illuminator can be detected in the technique I have evolved which includes burnished gold as well as pen and ink with watercolour. The process of working that I have developed takes time and patience, sometimes over 150 hours work. I also produced highly detailed works in the same vein in pencil and oil. The main current influences on my work are early Celtic manuscripts, the Pre-Raphaelites, Scottish 19th century Celtic revival artists such as Jessie M King and John Duncan, also illustrators like Dulac and Rackham. I hope all who visit this site may find a little that may re-awaken a love of enchantment, my work is but a vehicle for the deities, magical worlds and dreams that may whisper of realities past, present and still to come. Iain Lowe Contact: Cards and prints are available of much of Iain's work. He can be contacted by post at: 19 Friars Rd Stafford ST17 4AA

All artworks in this artist's Studio Room, in whatever medium
and including descriptive text, © Iain Lowe.

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