Life's Journeys

"Life's Journey's" is Victor's metaphysical consideration of journeys both physical and spiritual. It was painted after Victor had been living on Maui for a few months, and is autobiographical, concerning his travels from Russia to Maui, as well as his inner spiritual journey. The man in the center of the painting has just crossed over a deep chasm, that separates the ordinary realm (green trees) from the more ethereal realm in which he now walks. The path over was narrow and precarious, but now his way is smooth and easy, and he walks surrounded by beauty. At the lower left of the painting, we see a steep ladder, leading upward from the depths of the chasm to the plateau on which the man is walking. The ladder being Victor's symbol for spiritual evolution, we see that the plateau represents a high level of spiritual attainment, reached after great effort. Victor uses houses to represent the physical body (the "house" of the soul). In the sky, somewhat dilapidated houses are being lifted off up into an incredibly beautiful sky, by pastel-hued hot air balloons. The houses, which have been on the ground for many years, mundane and earth-bound, are now being transported into the sky, rising gently and effortlessly and flying free. For Victor, moving from the drab industrial town of Rostov in Russia to the lush and peaceful environment of Maui, was similarly an uplifting and freeing experience. With this painting, Victor expresses the expansive and joyful feelings of the happiest parts of his own life's journeys.