Tilly’s Soulscape est arrivee!

The moment we’d been waiting for had finally arrived. Louis Parson’s was at the door with Tilly’s Soulscape, a remarkable piece of art that will be autioned at the Caudwell Children's Ball on 20th May. Feeling so honoured, Tilly would be the first to view Louis’ representation of her ‘inner being.’ The air was charged with anticipation. As Louis turned the huge canvas towards Tilly, colour, power and radiance filled the room. Tilly sat opposite as if she was looking into a mirror, perfectly reflecting the purples, pinks, reds silver and blues of the canvas. Tilly smiled. It is breathtaking.

Louis, Daddie, Tilly and me just sat in the company of this compelling canvas, exploring the various contours of the Soulscape and absorbing the energies that radiated from it. Our words seemed superfluous as the picture was telling Tilly’s story. We drank deep into the artwork, enraptured.

As we travelled through the many lands of Tilly’s Soulscape we were struck by the variety of intense feelings that they generated that reflected Tilly’s journey. In the southern zone of the work we were struck by the serenity of the lake-like scenery, with a fountain of ‘happies’ that seem to depict Tilly’s physical being: little, beautiful, calm and tranquil. But then, there is the most incredible upward, swirling, vortex of harnessed energy that carried us up to Tilly’s innermost being. The energies twirl and grow and out of them explode the most beautiful and elegant soaring figure of Tilly; dancing and flying; filled with light and power.

Our eyes are captivated by shimmering ribbons of happiness and achievement that arc out of her core. Their progress suggests an infinite movement, without bounds, that could carry on beyond the canvas. The sense of potential is limitless.
An astonishing aspect of this work is that is actually appears to move, (like the Van Gogh’s field of wheat) whirling upwards, sucking us in and taking us right to the heart of Tilly; to feel her unending capacity for joy.

However, further examination of Louis’ artwork will reveal that Tilly’s magical energy is set in a realistic context. Tilly commented on the ‘mud’, so difficult to work through, that surrounds her peaceful lakeside beginnings. Rolf sees a face with eyes tightly closed – does it look like Tilly on the operating table? These shadows, too, are a vital part of Tilly’s story. I can hear a muffled determined defiance ringing forth through a dark chasm in the canvas. The hinterland of this work has powerful undertones that remind us that Tilly’s travels have been fraught with fear and anxiety that make her seemingly effortless ascendance all the more remarkable.

I believe that Louis’ artwork is an honest representation of an extraordinary little girl who has been given an extraordinary path to tread but has managed to soar above the barriers of her situation to realise unbelievable heights. Tilly’s Soulscape, has a luminous quality that can become a shining beacon for us all, reminding us of the possibilities of striving to get 100 per cent out of each and every day, no matter how difficult the challenges might be.

I believe that Tilly’s Soulscape est arrive so that we can all celebrate and marvel at Tilly’s “joie de vivre.”