Forsaken Paradise

It was during the year 1970, (approximately a year and a half after the artist’s profound mystical experience in Vietnam as described in his biography), the young artist once again experienced an unexplained event that occurred immediately after entering through the Ghiberti Doors at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. From the burning flame of a solitary candle, the young artist experienced a vision of the future while standing mesmerized at the foot of the altar at the very end of the Cathedral’s central aisle.




			Forsaken Paradise, Oil, 72"x 60", 1970
		It was during the year 1970, (approximately a year and a half after the artist’s profound mystical experience in Vietnam as described in his biography), the young artist once again experienced an unexplained event that occurred immediately after entering through the Ghiberti Doors at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. From the burning flame of a solitary candle, the young artist experienced a vision of the future while standing mesmerized at the foot of the altar at the very end of the Cathedral’s central aisle.
		This event lead to the creation of Mulleian's 1970 prophetic painting entitled Forsaken Paradise, foretelling of a world to come that clearly emphasizes an ecological calamity. This six by four foot painting was Mulleian's first of it's kind, and it consequently opened the doors to many of the artist's other greatest works which followed through decades to come. Paintings such as The Calendar 2047, a 1971 piece, also like his painting Forsaken Paradise, depicts a planet in peril. His notable work Dies Irae, as well as Prevailing Dawn, both foretell nuclear catastrophe. Stone Effigy gives a glimpse into the future through a space/time continuum, as both dimensions blend within a temporal paradigm, also warning us of the dangers of our unconscious ecological and moral trajectory. And another work, The Crypt, depicts a critical convergence, revealing ancient, transformative information yet to be discovered beneath the sands of Egypt, marking the beginning of a New Age. Many of Mulleian’s most profound paintings convey prophetic messages as warnings, as well as inform us of the transformative powers within ourselves. Finally, there is Forces of Man and Nature, a dramatic work that underscores the consequences of Man’s unthoughtful alliances and shortsighted miscalculations in relation to his place within the overall economy of Nature. Just when hope and human consciousness are about to vanish into darkness, and man’s environmental enslavement and ultimate extinction seem assured, Nature intervenes to compensate, correct, and restore the balance.
		These themes are elaborated upon in Paul Deegan’s "Analysis and Review of an Artist's Work", a comprehensive, greatly detailed examination of the layered nuances in Mulleian’s images. “Analysis and Review” is a penetrating study into the mystical dynamics of Mulleian’s paintings, uncovering the hidden metaphysical motifs expressed through the artist’s rich and skillful use of symbolism. The essence of Mulleian’s work reaffirms the artist’s steadfast conviction that man has the option to change his own destiny.