LaylaSinger on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/laylasinger/art/Magnum-Opus-325735116LaylaSinger

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Magnum Opus

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Description

My complete back piece - artwork by Matthew Kiley

The four coloured leaf sections are representational of the Four Seasons...

right shoulder - Winter
lower right - Spring
lower left - Summer
left shoulder - Autumn

The Full Moon in the center is intended to complete the representation of the annual cycle of life (as the seasons are determined by the passage of months, so the months are determined by the passage of the moon) and also of God's great affection for us all. Since the presence of the moon - it's precise size and location - is the reason that life is able to exist on this planet at all, I see it as a gift from God which he placed in orbit around the Earth to make it possible for life to be here. Since the Full Moon is the time of month when the moon's gravitational effect on the Earth is the strongest, this is the time when our mental, emotional, and spiritual awareness peak, so it's at these times when I feel closest and most "tuned in" to my Creator.

The black tribal work in the center represents the human soul and our existence as flawed creatures of "flesh", while the purple/mustard coloured leaf work represents the divinity and creative spirit of God - the symbolism is meant to speak to how the human spirit is in a continual state both of trying to relate with and emulate this divine spirit (sometimes succeeding to a small degree, either by good deeds or emotional connection) and also of continually being at odds with it in an effort to be independent and individual. This tumultuous relationship with our own divine nature and with our Creator, while central to the human experience, is only part of our world, with nature and the universe around us being much bigger than we are, a part which will always be what God created it to be...regardless of our successes/struggles with Him and with ourselves.

(Note: Though I am a believer in Jesus Christ, I have chosen not to represent the act of his sacrifice and the union with God that it brought to humanity in my tattoos - this act was something which I consider far more sacred than any visual can ever do justice to convey, and so that imagery is a tattoo which I carry on my soul, not on my skin.)
Image size
1940x1936px 5.57 MB
© 2012 - 2024 LaylaSinger
Comments5
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animawllover's avatar
This is absolutely gorgeous! :D I love it. Whoever did this, is an amazing tattoo artist.