ADRÉNUS CRATON

Battle of the Soul Collection, TREE OF LIFE (Series 6), "The Urgency of Patience" (2022), 4ft x 5ft Acrylic & Gesso. The 30-piece set is currently priced at 45,000 USD. 100% proceeds from the sale of three "Stories from Ukraine" pieces (worth 3,000 USD each) go to support Ukrainian disaster relief efforts taking place in Poland and by those being directly affected.

Seed 1 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

“So, this is the year my story will be told. Not just my story, our story, since 1898. The Battle of the Soul deepens. The Urgency of Patience quickens. Seeds of Patience, Rooted ...in the Tree of Life. What is this story that must be told? It is the story of endangered species. What is an endangered species? It is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or locally. What causes species to become endangered? So many questions. [Endangered species may be at risk because of other reasons too, such as loss of natural habitat, and invasive species. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) helps facilitate conservation.] Are we as humans next to be added to the list? Endangered, vulnerable and threatened species include plants and animals—organisms. How long do we have before humans are listed as endangered, vulnerable or threatened? Who will come to our rescue? Who will? These are seeds of Patience, rooted in the Tree of Life.” — Adrénus Craton

Seed 2 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

“What is the story that must be told? It is the story of how Patience, because of us, became rooted—or was it uprooted, uprooted like the buffalo. The Urgency of Patience. The Battle of the Soul. 2022, 2022, 2022. Someone once told me [in response to Calming the Rage, 2021], "The first battle that must be won is that battle with yourself." This quote is by Milton Redd, everyone calls him Eddie. We talked for hours in the gallery. He knows a lot more than I do, about philosophy and life. I listened a lot. And now, I know a lot more than I used to. What is the story that must be told? How long before special humans like Milton become vulnerable to extinct. And even more, even more, the buffalo. Their story will be told and it will surprise you, if you keep on reading, I think I will too." — Adrénus Craton

Seed 3 of 30

"Stories From Lipan Apache"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

“So then, what is the story that must be told? It is the story of the Lipan Apache, a story told by Lucille Contreras, "These bison, they are not my pets, I consider them my relatives. I do spend time with them everyday. They recognize me, and I recognize them. I love them, and they know that. From North Texas, South, East, West, was all historically Lipan Apache land. There is a lot of Lipan Apache history. I want to partner with the Buffalo Soldiers, who were descendants of Buffalo Soldiers that were in Texas. They were brought into the army as a way to get out of slavery, but they were also forced to do some traumatic things, historically. Colonization forced us, our people, to do some really desperate things to survive. I had a wonderful discussion with the leader of the Buffalo Soldiers, and we both acknowledged that yes there were atrocities done to each other, and some of it was forced. But now, in this day and age, to be able to come to a place of healing for all…” — Lucille Contreras [her quote continued on Seed 9]

"Love is the way. Love heals. Love is love, you. Love is you. You are love energy in motion… Love is who you really are—remember.” - Adrénus Craton

Seed 4 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

“And now 2022, what is the story that must be told? One of the stories told by Bobby Eichler (TPWD). The story is of th brown-headed cowbird. It truly is the funniest, wildest, strangest story I’ve ever heard, told by Bobby Eichler. This brown-headed cowbird is a bird that followed the buffalo. As the buffalo traveled, they stirred up insects. The brown-headed cowbirds would feed from this. But soon they had to lay their eggs. The buffalo had to keep moving. So what did they do? They laid their eggs in other birds’ nests, and they kept moving with the buffalo. They left their babies behind in other birds’s nests, of different species, so that they could survive. The baby brown-headed cowbirds sometimes hatched before the other baby birds that already occupied the nest. If they hatched first, it was very likely they would kick the other eggs out and the mother bird would raise the brown-headed cowbirds as if they were her own. [Thank you Bobby]" — Bobby Eichler

"But did she know? What do you think? I wonder did she ever know? Did she ever discover it? Does she know those brown-headed babies are not the same babies she laid eggs to? Can she really not know?" — Adrénus Craton

Seed 5 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

“Love
ɘvo⅃
Evol
lovƎ
=
EvolLove"

"The meaning behind this formula is that Love will evolve us all. Love IS... the power to transform, once we arouse it and allow it." — Adrénus Craton

Seed 6 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted vibrations:

"This piece depicts the golden waves of Love's vibration pulsing from a focal point, a shadow even, that which is currently my home state of Texas. Even in shadow working, it's always going to be about Love, because as wild as it sounds or as it is to comprehend, Love is all there is." — Adrénus Craton

Seed 7 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted words:

"What is the story that must be told? We have a lot of time here so please be patient with me as it all unfolds, the story of the buffalo. These great and magnificent creatures are more than has ever been told. These great majestic organisms that roamed the earth, migrating and all around the country, from edge to edge of manmade borderlines, of barbed wire fences, North to South to the waterlines, our great and magnificent buffalo, just by being alive and doing what they do, maintained our entire ecosystem. Just by being alive, the buffalo are like you alone, but powerful, calm and honest, even when there is conflict. This beautiful buffalo behavior is uplifting. The great spirit of the buffalo… How much longer before the spirit is on the list?

You are powerful. You are strong, like the buffalo. You are powerful. Like the buffalo, you already know." — Adrénus Craton

Seed 8 of 30

"Stories From The Heart"
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso

Painted vibrations:

"This piece depicts the Tree of Life in the Yin Yang position. All that we become during any given lifetime, equaling the sumtotal of our Highest Self, still exists in its opposite form. This is the nature of us, and it is the nature of the Universe. We are literal manifestations of 'as above so below' and discovering which side we are on is one of the greatest mysteries of Life."— Adrénus Craton