NEW PAINTING AVAILABLE: “The Golden Map” 18x24 oil on panel 2024. On the Trail 2/9. This painting comes framed, yay! (US orders only, please!! Prints always ship worldwide, of course.)

This is the second painting in my series, “On the Trail”, which shows the story of a group of pioneers headed west to follow the gold rush when they are spirited away to a new world by nonhuman entities. This is an origin story for my fantasy world, the Southwestern Bellows.

According to the Golden Map Society, Myrl Bel, of the first families, was contacted by one of the enigmatic and seemingly benevolent mantid beings shortly after their curious arrival in this new and unknown land. Before gifting Myrl with the Golden Map, the creature explained much about the terraforming of this Earth-like world and how it came to be. The mantid explained its relationship with the Zeta Reticulans, the extraterrestrials responsible for their abduction, details about the breeding program, and the history of their many failed attempts to introduce humans into this dangerous environment.

Myrl was taught about local plant medicine, how to avoid the shapeshifting reptiles, how to ward against forest demons, and many other secrets of the land. She was taught about space magick and how to manipulate dark energy. 

Unfortunately, Myrl forgot most of this knowledge, and forgot her encounter with the mantid, but….she returned with the famed “Golden Map”, and it was mega-helpful.