Sacred Elements

Water is a sacred element that is life to us and all creatures on our planet. We are embraced in water for our first nine months. The water element is used to bless us in many rituals. We know that without water for only 3 days life for us would not exist, yet we take this precious liquid for granted and pollute it with chemicals and trash.
The element of water and nature's spirals flows throughout Troy's entire works of art. From the fluid movement of the ocean and mountains to the sun and clouds folding into playful Mandalas in the sky we see this sacred symbology of nature in Troy's art.
Like gilding a scared image in Gold, such as a Buddha, Troy Carney covers his paintings of the oceans in Gold to bring appreciation and reverence to water. The magical element of water is similar to Gold in that they both have conducting properties and are precious elements that reflect light. Troy uses the reflecting light in his paintings as his highlights and creates this by layering hand cut surfaces carved with Japanese knives. When the Gold is laid across these carefully composed surfaces light dances and sparkles bringing the painting to life and changing with the mood of the day.
Troy is inspired by the notion of the Heavenly Flames that embellish the entrances to temples in South East Asia and are meant to cleanse a person as they enter. He has an appreciation for Polynesian art and combines them with the flames influenced by Tibetan Thangka to give his paintings a feeling of a sacred offering to the water element. This infusion of Polynesian spirals and Asian designs shows in the crest and curl of Troy's waves, creating art pieces with a unique style and Pacific island flare.
Troy considers waves as the splendor of the ocean's power and water at it's most magnificent, capturing this in his unique style of bas-relief art. Infusing the spirals found all through nature, Troy's art creates a space for us to come and worship the water, the sea and all that is made with this Sacred Element.