Rachael Pullin, Continuous Field Environment, 2021. Graphite, watercolor, and gold on paper.
Rachael Pullin, As Above, So Below, 2021. Graphite and gold on paper.
Rachael Pullin, Annie, 2021. Graphite on paper.
“This (the vortex), is also that (the flowering).”
Continuous Field Environment
When a very strong soul enters the material plane, conflicting energies can both disrupt and be disrupted by its presence. Those who are big are told to be small and so forth. In this portrait, the external energies converged upon the sitter’s field, the clash of these contrasting elements shifted the energetic environment into a vortex spiraling around a calm center.
It felt like a kind of experiential structure to ascend. The sitter’s energy, rendered in waves of gold and silver, was unbroken but became a form tangled by detour, yielding to the external expectations.
There were also points of light—the soul’s true path or work in this life—that held steady within this central channel.
I was shown that by focusing on the points of light, rather than the walls of the vortex, the form became a kind of energetic flowering. The internal wall of the form appeared as great revolving petals, a blossoming of this life’s experience.
The points of light appeared as anther, the bearers of the pollen that would seed the field with light. The sitter’s conscious attention became the filament through which this light is activated…a blossoming of the soul.
The title, “Continuous Field Environment,” came to me over and over as I was drawing this work. It held the sense that this (the vortex) is also that (the flowering). They are one in the same although our perception registers them differently. Through our conscious awareness we can always return to our center, our power, our true vision.
Vision is clearest at the center.
When too many opposing energies enter one’s field it can be difficult to discern the things that are ours, the things that are imposed upon us, and the things we hold onto because we believe it is what is expected of us.
Following the path made by the external energies exponentially increases the length of our journey. We will still ascend, but the central line is the most direct route.
As Above, So Below
This brilliant shifting wave form was revealed after ascending through the vortex in “Continuous Field Environment.”
The illuminated energy field took on an infinity shape, extending toward universal wisdom, and reflected this down to the material plane through what felt like the portal of the heart.
This light was in and of itself infinite and joined with the surrounding infinity.
It felt like the true form of the sitter’s energy.
I was shown that when this energy was fully inhabited by the sitter’s consciousness, the vortex was calmed by the inherent order and stability granted by the constellation of light.
As above, so below…via the vehicle of consciousness.
Annie
Annie is a seeker and world traveler, ever cultivating a state of freedom by searching out this earth’s contours, beauty, and light. There is an incredible magnetism about her that is both playful and incisive. She radiates kindness and meets others with an empathic heart, creating space for them to feel welcome, so they won’t feel so alone.
There is also such strength and drive within her—it is the kind of energy that is meant to express itself and make itself known.
In creating her physical likeness, I became very aware of the process of filtering the vastness of this energy through the identifications of the physical form, with its attendant conditions and expectations in this life. And, like other talented women, I sensed a pressure to uphold and perfectly carry the achievements of what one should be so as not to not let anyone down.
But, when the soul calls, these structures fall away.
These existing definitions—even if they were once forged by a previous version of ourselves—are revealed as limitations to our true nature.
Throughout this portrait process, I was reminded that freedom is also within. Those things that may propel us to perpetually tend to our external environment are those things that call to us from our internal one.
May we find the expansiveness and beauty within that we seek without.
There is much to be seen when wandering into one’s own self with the same curiosity, care, and excitement as we do the world.