"Swansong", 16x20, oil on linen panel
Odette is the tragic heroine in the classical ballet Swan Lake. Odette is a princess turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart's curse, who wants his evil daughter Odile (the Black Swan) to wrestle the handsome Prince Sigfried's heart away from the gentle Odette. The ballet is a love story of enchantment and tragedy, as only the Prince's undying love can break the curse and free Odette and the other swan maidens of the sorcerer's curse.
When I was artistic director of my ballet company back in the 1990's, we performed a full length Swan Lake 2 or 3 different times. The challenges of staging a ballet of this magnitude on a small company were tremendous, but I was ambitious and the rewards of re-creating the magic of that ballet eventually overshadowed the work that was involved. I have painted this scene before, but had the urge to paint Odette again in memory of the many hours of love I put into the restaging of that ballet !
Ballet, art, and music are all similar passions. When one has an artistic passion, it dictates their lives for that particular season. Luckily for me, I no longer need to do an entrechat quatre in order to fill my passion.
May every creative person continue to fill the world with beauty, through music, dance, art, and poetry!
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