Reaching for the Stars We Blind the Sky

The legacy of Ronnie James Dio lives on in his music, lyrics, attitude and inspiration. This painting is influenced by the song, ‘Children of the Sea’ which was the first song he ever wrote with Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath guitarist. The painting title comes from the first verse of the song:

In the misty morning, on the edge of timeWe've lost the rising sun, a final signAs the misty morning rolls away to dieReaching for the stars, we blind the sky

You may have noticed that the sun’s reflection in the abstract water has no counterpart above the surface. This is deliberate and echoes the second line of the lyrics. I initially thought of depicting hands reaching out from the water but, in the end, decided to adopt the more abstract ethereal flares rising from the depths.

There always seemed a link with Milton's 'Paradise Lost' theme in Dio’s song. I often wonder exactly who the children described were? In his shows he would say it was his audience - also known as 'The last in line' -  but I'm not sure this was the whole story. We can only speculate.

Once upon a time, I recorded a less than perfect acoustic re-imagining of the song, which you can listen to and watch at https://youtu.be/rI4TihCdIF8?si=yvUXb6UvcE2p_Crz