The Ancients

Wisdom of the ages doesn't end and begin with the old. There is knowledge and insight to be shared at any age. When an individual opens their mind to take in life, experience the moment, whether that moment is joyous or sad, in that moment, they experience liberation! And in that moment, they are available to perceive the wisdom and depths of the ALL.

Thought for The Day - Break

The beginning of "Linen, Remains Calm" 30 x 40 oils

Not as in a loss or dropping a precious crystal vase, but "break" as in stopping the swirl around you for a brief second. Stopping the flow of life, in all it's wonder. The madness and chaos, the joy and adventure of it all. Just to breathe and absorb it all. And it is an A-L-L. It is large and expansive. If one could imagine trying to expand one's recognition of what's happening around you.

You are connected to the internet at the moment. So are millions - no billions of people all over the world. You are in a location where access is possible, whether you are walking along the street, sitting in a car, at home or in Starbucks. You are surrounded by humanity, God's representation of himself in it's myriad expressions. And everything is connected. Each molecule, atom, brick, electrical outlet and fiber of hair. The air, the sky, water, even the sweat on your palms and the oil in yours skin bonds with every other molecule in the A-L-L.

Drink it in.

Pause for a brief moment





The wonder of it all

And yes, you will feel alone, disconnected, out of sorts and out of touch. You have moments when it seems no one wants to know you or feel your presence and yet, in the sea of humanity, in that same breath, that very second, billions of "disconnected" people feel the same way.

We are wonderfully damaged and healing and and communicating beings! We are connected in ways that defy logic and as it should be.

Break

A moment to reflect, grab your corner of the global/universal view.

Now let it go

The world and all of creation continues to spin along as it always has...

Thought for The Day - Speak

Declare it! With bull horn or a loud voice! Urgency and insistent, let it be known! Because it's in your heart and the abundance is too much to hold in.

For so long, I thought declaration (preaching, teaching and counseling) and creativity (writing, drawing and painting) ran on two different paths and somehow I was trying to run the different paths, but one at a time. Recently, I came to accept that the two aren't parallel or separate, but because they reside in me, they are one in the same. The need to share my life is the same need to be creative. To speak originates from the same vein as writing and painting. And it all declares a reservoir that runs beneath. That source isn't a trickle and is larger than any ocean. It's beginning is unknown and it's end is the same!

Thought for The Day - "I"

I'm Listening 24 x 36 Oil

Yes
I am here
This place where you sit
Quietly
Pouring out your soul
Clamoring for answers

I am Here
Here
Here
Where your eye is
And where it cannot go
I hear each syllable
And the intent of your heart

In the light of day
You look for me
In the faces
The movement of people
And the noise of the day
Oh I am there
But your vision is clouded
Looking for an expression
Perfection in skin and tone

In the darkness
When you sleep
I am
The movements unseen
The silence of a morning
Not quite yet born
I sit perched
And quick as a dart
I am here
Over there
And back here again

Between the hearts of two
And the heartbeat of one
I speak
Between the "whoosh"
And the "thump"
In the silence
Like a gap between notes

In the fruit
at the core
where the seed lies
waiting
I wait
In the ground, will I go
Or disappear in the trash
So much more than the question
And greater than destiny

I am the journey
The answer
I am the question you ask repeatedly
And would never move your mind to form
I am the night
And the noon day
The particular love you cannot have
And the mystery of the Shroud of Turin
Am I you ask
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

You wait for a reply
Because you think you've asked for information
But in your heart
You've asked for interruption
Disruption
A change you control
I am not remote
for your control
I am timeless
And limitless
And just before you breathe your last
I am...

Thought for The Day - Sublime

Sailing under a Penny Moon (in process) 12 x 18 pastels

One of my friends, when she saw my work, said "it's so colorful!" Now mind you, I don't know what I was looking for in that moment, maybe something along the lines of admiration, adulation, a deeper connection to the imagery. But that was her reaction. I didn't question, though in retrospect, I wish I had. Sometimes you want more than compliments or a "like;" you want dialogue, a conversation about impressions and feelings. This isn't an ego thing, this is Eddie, wanting to make connections and have conversations about more than which restaurant has the best chicken or the temperature outside!

When I look at areas of the above picture (in process) I'm struck by the tones and the depths of the color. Again, not an ego thing, but realizing there is a current, a well or vast ocean beneath the surface. Creativity is not something to "own" or "possess." Someone may own the pond that sits on their property, but you don't own it's supply. One may have the advantage of owning a lake, also on property you own, but wildlife that feed on it, the water falling from the sky, the minerals and every organism making up that ecosystem, do not belong to you. We are caught in the beauty of it all and it surrounds us. In truth, it overtakes and dwarfs us!

The colors, the sense of movement; for me the very sense that each color conveys an impression, an emotion and thought...no, this is not ego; this Eddie expressing his view of the flow he was fortunate to enjoy!

Thought for The Day - Starting

It begins...

Lift

Move

Wiggle

Stumble

Fall

Adjust

Try

Again
   and
Again
   and
Again

Sometimes I sit and stare at the canvas. Some days that's hard to do, so I glance over my shoulder. I look at the paint drying on the palette. I glance at the top left hand corner for the beginning point, where the inspiration began. I pull out my sketch book and get stuck with the choices...but it isn't until I put paint to brush and brush to canvas, that anything happens. Thought without action, intent with movement is an unknown factor.

But it starts with the intention, the desire; sometimes we can't articulate what it is. It's an impulse, a twitch in our head. But by all means start, try, stumble, fall, cry, moan, laugh and continue!

Thought for The Day - Where The Movement Takes Us

Detail of "Linen" 30 x 40 Oil painting

Detail of "Linen, A Storm's Coming" 24 x 30 Oil painting

I used to think I would lose me. But as I relinquish control, as I surrender, I am found...

It's simple, it is, after all, just fabric. Plain and monotone or bright and colorful and woven, it is created to cover, to drape and accentuate. But how it does it, the way we arrange it, is up to us! And the way we do it each day is an adventure!

Thought for The Day - What Do You Do When...

Fire and Ice (in process) 8 x 11 colored pencils

Incomplete sentences

Delivered in parts

Fragments as I sit and contemplate

Communication

A theme

Subject matter - expert I am not

My pencil over the paper, will not render a well sketched portrait,

A bowl of grapes, a bottle of wine and a candle will not come forth

But a soul used yet full of life

Will tell a story

Share these fragments

Render you captivated

And provide food for thought

Thoughts

That come to mind years from now

Sitting at breakfast

An idea comes to mind

And you'll say "I remember when..."

Thought for The Day - I AM

Far away, Get away

Triplicate

I'm listening

Thought and motion
Speed and sound
Fast and slow
Tomorrow, yesterday and today
When you sleep I am awake
And when you awake we are at play
Your mind and mine
Blending
Crossing
Intersecting
I pull anxiety and delusional stress from your body
As if it were a blend of fiber optic chords
Active and dancing with chaos
I am both the sane an the sickly insane
I live in between your joints and the marrow in your bone
I am the rhythm of a a thousand vehicles
Stretched from her to there
Brakes lights blinking off and on
And the trillion thoughts
Darting from "She said ____"
And "the statistics say I'll never _____"
I am quiet country paths
Not qualified to be called roads
Worn by the press of old tires
Horse hooves
And the feet of humanity
I am lush green forests
Where tiny streams run on the surface
And beneath it
Too remote to experience machinery yet
And too precious to ever receive it.
I am peace and quiet
Sunrise and sunset
The finest most minute bit of energy -
I am -
And the spanse of billions of galaxies
full of life no human would ever recognize
When your thoughts won't allow rest
I am the quiet tremor running alongside
Silently pleading for your attention
And offering peace
I am both here and now
And completely out of touch
When tomorrow you sleep and dream
And tomorrow you wake
You won't remember me
But I will always be here
I am...

Thought for The Day - Snag It

Every now and then, a notion comes along and you should reach out and grab it! Don't let it pass by so many other thoughts and feelings. You know the one's: I should go out for a walk; wonder what it would be like to wake up in Paris; I should take a pottery class. There are endless lists of things and places to go and people to meet and yet we settle for life we feel is mundane.

I don't believe it's in our DNA and Divinity, to live life unexplored. Granted, not every moment of every day is meant to be an adventure or spent pursuing elusive whims. We need stability and quiet and a certain sameness for living. But life is more than grocery lists and paying bills and church socials. It is long drives to visit relatives you haven't seen in years. It's an ice cream cone shared while sitting in the park. It's walks on the beach and reading a challenging book. It's a fishing trip with little or no goal, other than getting away from the noise of your life.

...you're watching television, a show where you know the plot, the characters and the end, like you know the back of your hand. Your mind wanders from the tube and suddenly, a thought comes to mind: "I should _______!" Snag it!

Thought for The Day - The Message

You can read words until your head spins,
You can sit in a sweat lodge until every pore pours water
You can meditate until your transcendental spirit floats out to the stars

But the message you want is where you are.
It's no mystery because it is written and spoken in a familiar language
It speaks in patterns and rhythms
In images that haunt long after they out of view
Listen, but don't fixate
Heed, but stay in the present...

Thought for The Day - Submerged

Beyond schedules, missed deadlines, disappointments and health concerns, there is a place of tranquility. Imagine it as a place so secluded and insulated, it's as if you were under water. For those who swim and love it, the feeling is like floating on your back in the water. A better comparison is swimming underneath the water and watching the light from above and below, the waters surrounding and supporting you.

My studio is my space; it is not only a sanctuary, but a place where worries and cares can be checked at the door. In the spirit of the sacred places, it's also the place where concerns can be taken and left in the safe care of One uniquely tasked to solve problems. The work of my hands and mind are my way of unraveling mysteries, of diving to depths no other person knows and allowing my soul to flourish!

One thing I've found to be true: sanctuary and solace can be found where ever you are. Certainly, it's good to have a time and place where you are certain you can commune with God, but in truth, no place can hold him. So out for a walk, sitting at my desk, in the middle of tasks that never end, I go there, to Him, and the light above and below surround me! I am set free!

Thought for The Day - The Unspoken Tongue

The Elements - 36 x 42, Oils

Red typically represents excitement, energy or passion. But it can also represent blood, which is life or in some cases, death.

Blue, depending on its shade, represents sky, water, cool, mellow or relaxed.

Green usually means life or nature.

Orange usually represents energy as well, but because of the association with the fruit, it can mean nutrition and healthy eating.

Yellow represents light, illumination and of course energy.

Without much thought, whether you have a favorite color or not, when you wear certain colors, it reflects your mood or personality. For some, it may represent a subtle impression about the environment where you are or you're going. Certain patterns in clothes, loaded with colors, attract us as we're shopping. Years ago, while working at a particularly reserved bank, a consultant came through and seeing the tie I wore that day, he said: "That's a power tie! That tie means something!" Mind you, I loved the subtle browns, deep oranges and burgundy colors of the tie and I know in some strange way, I liked the way it made me feel, but I hadn't given much thought to what others would think. I especially didn't think of it as a power tie and most importantly what "power" it gave!

Years ago, in college, a teacher of mine critiqued the above painting and said that I forced background tones to the foreground and vice-a-versa. Once again, I didn't see it that way; I only knew the feeling I had rendering it. I loved the way the colors moved and seemed to have an energy of their own.

There are things we immediately "know" while others dance around the periphery of our understanding. We can assume it's day because the sun is up or if you're like me, rising before it does, you know it because you're body responds to the time of morning. But there will always remain a degree of mystery; some facts remain incognito. But we can know about them, we can experience them without naming or identifying them.

Have you ever felt like the floor was dropping beneath you, or as if the area where you stood tilted? More on that another time.

Thought for The Day - The Well

A Response 24 x 36 Oil

I wondered how deep the well ran...

As a child, for a few days of the summer, we traveled south to Mississippi and Arkansas, visiting my parents aunts and uncles. Both had a few cows, more chickens and a few horses or mules; the folks were old and spent last time working the land than used to. But on my father's land, there was a well that his aunt used as one of her sources of water. A well with a bucket attached to a rope that you lowered to get water from the bottom of it. I don't think I've been too many places since and seen a working well. Anyway, if you wanted water for cooking, cleaning and drinking, this was the best way to get it. And the water was cool and delicious! I remember thinking how could the water be so cold when it was so hot outside! But it was and we drink it often.

I remember wondering how water was below the ground; did it just sit down there? Or was it flowing here, there and...you get the point.

Makes me wonder still, when I think of sources, are they just lying there waiting to be 'tapped?' I've been trying to get to the bottom of this, quite literally, all my life. A deeper searching and understanding of this living, this life. Seeing beauty in the mysteries of life as well as the simple and common. A drop of water, coming from your eye, or as will be the case in a few minutes, water dripping in the form of sweat...from my body...really...where is the well?

The source...the necessities of life supplied...