Begin...Again...

Linen 30 x 40 Oils

A Kiss 12 x 18 pastels

Linen - A Storm's Coming 24 x 30 Oils

Linen - Remains Calm (in process) 30 x 40 Oils

Start it over, wind it back. Do it again and again and again. Then do it some more. Resolve, be resolute and firm in your intention and when you fall, again and again, get up again and again and again. We love the merry-go-round we call life! We love the grit and disgust, followed by quiet introspective moments, sitting alone with our guilts and thoughts. At some point, we apply the one remedy that seems to dull the pain of disappointment: laughter. And at some point, we remember we are more than a failure and that we have wants and needs that go beyond the basic. And we remember - we reason - that no one will give you anything, so you better get off your butt and get it yourself!

I have friends who don't realize the tenderness of their heart. Oh that beating mound of flesh in the middle of your chest is resilient! It has to be! We toss it around, send it into the blast furnace of difficulty and expect it to be quiet when we meet someone who makes it beat harder! But have you ever told your heart "thank you?" Have you ever laid your hand on your chest and said "thanks for your thump-thump" and "for putting up with ups and downs I reason you through?" We will reason ourselves silly, then fall flat on our face with angst and rise again!

One. That singular digit, the representative of beginning. On a calendar, its preceded by a 31, or a 30 and that rare "28" or rarer still "29." And that represents a cycle far larger than us. Sure it's time to start something. There are dreams and plans and well thought out goals just waiting for this day, but please bare in mind, while you may have abandoned the old, it might come back for a visit. You may be inclined, when the "new" isn't going the way you planned, to pick up the "old" once again. And be gentle with your heart when it brings back desperate, unneeded coping mechanisms!

Begin...Again!

Here We Go!

New format, trying something new. Except it isn't dramatically different, just a shift to the left. Power. Who has it? Do you and I and 'us' - all of us - have it? I would like to think we do and how we choose to use it is the problem and the solution. We exercise control over one another and yet we aren't really sure what we want to attain. We say we want the world to be a certain way, but don't realize there are others who want equally opposing things. So we work, talk with others who are of the same mind, trying to get the whole of society, a nation, or the world to be shaped in the vision we have for it. Except there are others who are doing the same thing, but not with the same goal in mind. And in truth, no matter how much the "group think" mentality rules, there are always those in the group who don't see things quite the way the "leader" sees it. There is a constant shifting of energy and control and the world is in a state of upheaval as a result.

Here's the other side of this equation: while we have "power" and exercise it, there is a vision for this world that exceeds - overrules - our own. Certainly, we can guide, direct exercise control over others. But there is one who has the first and final say over every life on this planet. His plan will be completed, even while we exercise our "free will." The direction He wants will be carried out, even as we go about our daily lives, doing, building, loving and hating.

What is good? What is right? What benefits all? And what is LOVE? Focus there.

Thought for The Day - Clockin'

Terrible for the senses

Makes you reactionary and wars against your sensibilities...

Some rise early, intent on getting a couple tasks for the day, completed before hitting the pavement. Some rise with a few minutes time before they have to get out the house; no "self-love" involved in their daily preparation for a demanding life. Up and out; no breakfast, grabbing whatever is clean or nearly so. And angry, frustrated is how they spend the day. And thoughts about the future? "I barely have enough energy to get through the day and you want me to think about what else I'm going to do?!" Yeah, sorry about that...

In the middle of "survival mode" there are people who are happy to have an expectation of income, however meager. They pool resources - i.e. income - buy cars, homes, and share food. And all the while their thoughts are constantly on the infinite possibilities that are ahead!

Sunrise; you've been awake for an hour or more. At this point, your mind and body are at peace. You've considered the day's activities, planned contingencies for what will go wrong - "if Bill comes in with the usual excuse of being up all night with his sick child, we will be weeks behind on this project, so I will have to _____." You have given thought to lunch, where and what and planned your evening activities: a trek through a nature trail not too far from home and a light dinner before relaxing with a book. Your income is sufficient, it provides for your current needs and a portion is saved for future investments and hopes...

Each of us are clocking; we are watching it, considering it, remembering what was lost, mindful of what is not available and where we should be in life. We are considerate of, angry at and hopeful -TIME. We want more of it and pray for better (timing) and bemoan the days, weeks and decades gone (i.e. "I should have enrolled in culinary school, I should have invested in my own business, I should have never married that ______!").

Time is a precious commodity and it seems to me, the best way to live in relation to it is living today, with resources reserved for the future you hope for!

Thought for The Day - No Quick Fixes

I Will Rise 18 x 24 pastels

Linen - A Storm's Coming 24 x 30 Oil painting

What do you do when the pace slows? What happens when the progress that was slow before, gets slower? When the energy wanes and your attention is elsewhere, then what? You dig in, you slow down and pay attention to what's going on.

There's always something occurring, seen and unseen. The energy is "there," just below the surface, seething, churning and looking for the right time to release. Wait. Patiently do so. It may seem the wait is long, it may seem "change aint coming" but wait, plan hope and dream.

Thought for The Day - This Day

The Turn  9 x 12 pastels

What will this day bring, this 24 hours, this 8 hour work day, commuting for 2 and the remainder? What is a necessity, a pleasure, a luxury and planned? Where will it take me? Who will I become and what will I discover about me?

A careful and detailed analysis doesn't yield new results, but each day is a new day. Each day brings new opportunities and another chance to make better, do better and be. So what will I do differently with this day? How will I improve on the plans for my life?

A few years ago, I worked briefly on this series "The Turn." My plans were as foggy then as they are now; I had intentions, desires but wasn't certain of the means. This day is much like that turn: I'm going in the direction the road takes me and I'm not sure where that is.

Thought for The Day - Drip!

That's how it begins,

A drip

Small

Singular

A notion

An idea

An intention

Soon

Another

And Another

And Another

Before you know it

The number and actions that result from that single drop, that single thought, are too numerous to tell! And you are well on your way to a life worth living!

Thought for The Day - Dream Dust

Fine and light, like talcum powder, there's enough for everyone! Funny thing: a little bit is all you need! We are fooled into thinking there's only room at "the top" for a few, but maybe the top isn't where you should be aiming. Maybe you just need to live your life to the fullest, to the furthest point of your imagination!

Take a little of this dust and sprinkle it on the one thing you've always wanted to do or be. Now turn the object around in your hand (your mind) over and over. Pick it up and consider each day, until it is glowing and glossy, like well polished mahogany furniture. Over and over again until your reflection greets you as you approach it each day. At some point, that "one thing" will be realized; the dream becomes reality!

Another great quality about this dust is it can be applied everywhere! Because it isn't your dreams only that need to see the light of day. There are ideas, plans hopes and wishes that you have yet to put into practice. Of course, it may be advisable to place a parameter or two around these goals. Someone else's property or spouse or significant other, should be considered off-limits. And when it comes to relationships, don't limit yourself on the ones that are taken; there is more than enough available people to go around! Just don't give up your hopes of being connected with someone!

Okay, you have a handful of this stuff: go, sprinkle and dream!

Thought for The Day - In an Instant

Like grains of sand, our thoughts and sensations occur, in an instant. We are seeing hearing, feeling, tasting and analyzing. We are thinking, reasoning, doubting, hoping, losing and winning, all in an instant. We evaluate, judge, discern, condemn, self-correct and self-deprecate, in an instant. This amazing mass of energy, housed in this mass of flesh! It's capacity to guide, direct, to love and hate is limitless!

In a moment, we are capable of changing the direction of our lives. While "external stimuli" may guide our steps, so often, the true inspiration is internal, in our hearts and mind. When we are certain our lives will continue in "this way," something tragic or glorious comes along and we have a new reason to live! And that new direction, while it seems to come out of "nowhere," it was always there, inside you. You may not have welcomed the interruption to your mundane life, but in the long run, you will appreciate the shift, because you took hold of the reigns of your life and turned it around! 

The best planning, the best education and intentions...in an instant...

Thought for The Day - Today

How do we effectively utilize today, this day, these 18 hours of wakeful time? On a typical day, we are "at work," someone else's place of employment putting in 8, 10, or 12 hours. But while our body and mind are there, for the most part, our 'intention' is elsewhere. Perhaps, a first step is to be in the same place where our intention, our desire, is.

For me, it is a lifelong goal and though I've tried a few times to get from underneath the need for "other's employment," for the time being, I'm there. So today, I will spend it quietly considering the life I desire. Not the escape route, with whom I need to network, or where my plans may fall through. No, dreams don't need to be nightmares full of debt and failure - we've got real life for that! Today, I will enjoy the day, the marriage of my oldest niece and leave room for thoughts about a better life. Tomorrow will bring it's own challenges and yesterday is history; today is the day for dreaming, planning and hoping.

Thought for The Day - I Know What I'm Doing!

Linen - with a little swirl (in process) 24 x 30 Oil painting

...You may not know, but I do!

What's in an artist's mind is probably not much different from yours. Desires, longing, and even expressions are fairly universal. But what is different is how those feelings are communicated. In the latest (in progress) piece, the idea is "Linen - a little swirl." The idea, as well as the image, in still in progress and when it is finished, perhaps, the thought will be complete. But the process remains a very "cerebral" concept.

Linen, as in bed linens; something about that expanse of space where we lie down at night. That space where two come together for sleeping and comfort and love. It can be a large space, like North America, with two countries  blended in one. Or it can be like two countries separated by a desert. In any case, the landscape is filled with dips and valleys and mounds and high places. It's like the sands of the desert, where change is certain; the landscape you saw last night is not what you will see today. This is the concept for this current piece. It is part of a series.

Now, knowing what I'm doing, where I want to go doesn't make the journey easy. I could probably get 'there' much faster without the layers of paint and another media. But between my ears, that path is long and filled with pitfalls and twists; there is no shortcut. So, when I render, I have to allow myself time to work out the details. And from one piece in a series to another, from series to another, I have to allow those thoughts, those steps to manifest. Whether you are patient, interested or not, I have to allow myself this journey.