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Horse & Moon Collection (latest images)
The Balinese Collection : The Balinese Dreams and the Balinese Trilogy
(See also Steve's travel newsletters about his trips to Bali)
The Balinese
Dreams
A series dedicated to discovering how to live a life that you love.
The Invitation
The Welcome Dance
Sunrise
The Three
Sisters
When my brother died my spirit asked my mind a question. "Are you living a live that you love?" At the time I was carving my fortunes as a successful wine broker. At best I liked my job. Yet each moment I was doing my job well, I could not stop thinking about what job I really would love to have. Maybe, one day, when I retire or something, I will go do that thing that pulls on my imagination, I would tell myself. What pulled on my heart was a life of painting, traveling and telling stories about transformation. So, in April of 2001, I decided to retire from my career as a wine broker and pursue a life doing what my heart told me was correct. I went to live on a small island called Bali. While I was there I told the story of how I found a life that I loved in two series of paintings. This is the first of those series.
My memories of Bali are more like a fluid dream than any actual event during my four month stay. In the early morning sun I would step onto the road outside my home to see elegantly dressed, dark haired women kneeling in the street laying down small trays of flowers and incense as the warm breeze would lift the white smoke around their thin bodies. They would look up at me after a small prayer with sparkling eyes smiling in greeting. In the afternoons, while resting on my porch, sipping black Bali coffee, watching exotic orange and white cranes fly past palm trees waving under heat clouds, I could hear the distant music of the steel and bamboo xylophones of the neighborhood gamelan orchestra rehearsing for their weekly parade in honor of some wedding or cremation. Children, dark almond eyes, always smiling, running between long lines of 30 or 40 women carrying trays of fruit on their heads, walking to a local temple for prayer. In just one hour I could see all this, standing transfixed in the dirt street outside my luxurious home. Most importantly, I noticed the thousands upon thousands of smiles. In Bali each citizen takes very seriously their Karmic duties...which are always to give others what one wants in return. What every Balinese wants is happiness.
This series is about waking up to that happiness.
The Child Angel
The Balinese Trilogy
The Passion of Community
Sinta Dreams of Rama
A Gift From My Brother
Living among the Balinese I learned that passion is what keeps relationships alive, relationships are the essence of community and therefore passion keeps a community powerful. I learned how to keep the relationships strong with my ancestors, my soulmate, and children.