Out of The Raw

Phoenix 18 x 24 pastels

Spinning Blue Orb 18 x 24 pastels

Filtered Divinity 12 x 18 pastels

Rise! 18 x 24 pastels

We try to describe it

And in truth

We should revel in the power that is greater description

Words

Don't fail

They form

They capsulize

Colors

And descriptions of color

Emotions

Concepts

Inventions

Are

Our way of holding it

Managing it

Riding it like a creature we tamed

And yet

You can examine it

Study it

From now 'til

And it changes

Grows larger than you can tame

Again

And it changes you

Because this _____

Is greater

Untamed

And will be

When you

As you know "you"

Are someone/somewhen else

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 - 7:21

12/05/14 Early Morning view of "Sailing under a Penny Moon"

Get up! The day is wasting away and you have plenty to do! Well that's me most days and quite honestly, on most days, by 7:21 I've written, exercised, had breakfast and I'm on my way to work. And no, this has not always been my way. Creativity is my driving factor, my motivation to rise early and start the day.

Goals, I have them and when I achieve those that look like helium filled balloons floating away, I'll have more! When I get to the point, my message is heard by some and understood in my images, I'll reach further. Those goals are like clouds "above" the clouds, goals that I know are there, but for now I keep them just out of conscious thought. Time isn't a factor anymore and with that thought comes a realization that I may not obtain those dreams. I won't die trying, but I will live my life knowing I have tried with each day. And far more importantly I have dared to dream and dared to create.

Clarity: who you are - who I am - isn't all you're capable of being. The dull or exciting life you have now isn't all you can experience. The sun rises and sets and soon you find yourself shifting, changing the direction of your life. You may not earn much today, maybe nothing at all, but a shift, an unexpected but natural transition places you in a new point of view and you find yourself earning, achieving and living life to the fullest.

Thought for The Day - Tree

I want to be a tree

I want to grow where I'm planted

And dig deeper

And discover greater depth

I want my trunk to grow through obstacles and around them

I want to extend my branches up

out and over

I want people to bask in my height

Take comfort in my shade

In winter

I want my branches and twigs

To echo the crisp whispers of cold air

For people to respect the power of that basic element - Wind

I want the metal fences that should contain me

To be buried in between my trunk and some branches

So that I am a mysterious force

That defies the odds

When I and the wrought iron agree

I want parts of me to give in to the tenacity of the metal

And my life force to grow around it

I want to be a tree

Strong and tall and full of life

And when it's my time to be cut down

I want to leave a lasting impression

That years from now

People will remember

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 - 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 - I am "Here"

A red dot marks my location on the map...and this concept gets copied and modified on electronic devices and software. We can be found "here," or "there." Like the "dash" between a birth year and year of departure, there's no telling what that dot contains!  The dot, the dash, they're just indicators, but no indicator of the stories stored in that location. The reps can't tell you I've moved from this spot in the room, the house, or the office building. It can't tell you I'm on the first floor, getting in the tub or in the basement reclining on the couch while the television serenades me. And the dash doesn't indicate how many people's lives we have impacted for the good.

Words, representing a focal point for the day, a point of concentration, like the rudder on a ship. In this venue, the focal word or phrase says "use 'this' as a mile marker, a reminder of things important. Use it to build, tear down, plant and uproot." There exist thoughts, notions and intentions in us that are taking us to a dead end; we want life, especially in us. There are secret plans we've been plotting and scheming, perhaps we aren't aware how damaging and destructive they can be. We need a remedy, a sense of hope to redirect our course. Sometimes one word, a single concept is all that is needed to put us back on the correct path. And sometimes, the equivalent of an embrace (one word or "thought"); that basic human point of contact changes our location and the direction of our lives.

It's just a word, a thought or a feeling. In the language of "dots" and "the dash," it doesn't register. But in the day-to-day living, the microscopic details of the grand design, eternity is found "here."

Thought for The Day - Power and Wisdom

The Phoenix

The strength of youth,

The wisdom of age...

Live long enough and the former gives way to the latter. It isn't that youth is not smart or intelligent, or even wise. But when you come to rely less on power and stamina, you learn to think before acting; age teaches us the "way" things are. Experience combines with a mental strength and we learn to temper our responses for a better outcome.

Enjoy your strength, nurture wisdom, for it is a blending of the two that speaks to divine nature in each of us.

Thought for The Day - The Communication

Soul Dance (in progress) 8 x 11 colored pencils

The power of words! They are like the building blocks of our world; the communication of far deeper concepts and if we don't know how to express what's there, it doesn't lessen it's power on us! From the words, the formation of sounds that equal thoughts, ideas, feelings and impressions, we increase our understanding and the unfathomable.

Images are the shapes and colors we use to hinge our thoughts upon as well. Whether it's the face of your loved one or a tree, we know through our six senses, the sixth being our ability to filter and catalog the other five senses.

The other day, my wife apologetically stated that she doesn't understand abstract art: my work is abstract. I told her it's okay and went on to draw a correlation between abstract art and patterns in clothes. Colors, shapes and patterns communicate thoughts, feelings and even expectations. We don't understand to the degree we can easily articulate, but we do "get it." Consider the smile of your child or your beloved; whether you know why they're smiling, the fact that they are smiling, warms your heart. Or, depending on circumstances, you may think the smile hides a hidden agenda or perhaps sarcasm. The same can be said about a hand gesture, a frown or someone looking away when you meet for the first time. A thousand different impressions occur in a simple human exchange.

The power of communication is that it goes deeper and further than recording facts and figures. It is our means of conveying life!

Thought for The Day - It's Not The Shoes

There was a series of Nike commercials during the late 80's early 90's, where Michael Jordan is repeatedly asked by Mars, a character from the movie "She's Gotta Have It," and played by Spike Lee. Mars repeatedly asks Michael if his ability to play basketball so well is attributed to his shoes, or his jersey or anything other than Michael's own prowess and discipline. And so it is with most of us; we want to believe the "power" and capability has been magically transferred or originates from our food, shoes or our body. We also blame the same for our feelings of pain: "all this preprocessed food is killing us," yet we never stop eating it or if we do, we're back to it "every now and then."

I bought a pair of shoes nearly a year ago, specifically designed to be lighter and provide cushioning for my feet. I bought them for the daily commute to work and to feel comfortable as I walked around the office; business dress shoes can be restricting, though stylish. The shoes are comfortable and can feel like I've got room to grow, but there are times when it seems my feet are "rolling around" in the shoes and I'm uncomfortable wearing them. What I decided is "it's not the shoes." It isn't the corporate setting where the shoes are worn; there are people there and in similar offices who want to be there and for various reasons. It's not the uneven pavement or slant of one of the streets that make me uncomfortable; it's my own thoughts and feelings.

Now, as I mentioned in the posting "Pesky Little Things," the sense of discomfort can be a good thing; it could be your psyche's way of telling you to keep reaching for "better things." We want better, we want our time here in this world to mean something and when that isn't happening, rather than settle for 'less,' it is our tendency to express angst with our situation. But by all means, when the "pesky," miserable life you live is getting to you, go find the world you long for, but keep in mind: "it's not the shoes..."

Thought for The Day - Originality

Running the Sky 12 x 18 pastels

"Sometimes, you gotta get in the basket and see where the wind takes you!"

"C'mon, we're going for a ride!"

Early morning, sleep is barely out of my eyes and yet I am determined to allow whatever dreams and their cryptic, poignant messages, to carry me through the day. Each day I wake, each day is opportunity to be 'me.' Not a better me, though I strive for it, but 'me,' the guy who likes listening to music, loves the challenge of bending light into patterns on paper and drinks in the beauty of each day. I wake each day, suppressing the urge to crawl back in the bed, curled in a dreamland where whatever battle I'm about to face, is far away.

It's original, the mark I make, the blend of colors chosen, because the energy generated never stays the same. Some days I'm high in the sky, riding the waves of energy where my cousins and them can't touch. Not because I'm more, but because I'm free and I am me. The voice, the tone, the blend of words, all my own. And when I come down to earth, when I settle to the ground and my feet blend with earth, my roots run deep, sprouting in new places and new faces.

I wish you could see what I do when the colors flow. There is far more (quantity + quality) than I and you can ever fathom. But let's try to bring it up and out anyway!

Thought for The Day - Love

After the Dance 18 x 24 charcoal and pastels

Send it out

Receive it

We love "love." We love "loving." But love is more than responding to someone who is "loving;" love, by it's very nature simply gives. It does not stop because it is not received. Love does not fade in the face of opposition. It simply loves.

Think of love like the wind...we build homes and buildings and we build them to withstand strong winds. But wind finds it's way through the smallest cracks. It wraps around the house, envelopes it and in a quiet moment, you can hear it whipping around corners. When a breeze is powerful, you can feel it even in a brick house. That's what love is; we put up barriers to it, we try to prevent it's expression when we reject an individual, but love is stronger than hurt and love is greater than pain. Love. Never. Fails.