5:02 AM

Entry point. The place where reality is set aside, when I enter the world of imagination and creativity. All the prep work is completed and I'm ready to begin my quest. Any thing in this space is great place to focus; it is a rich environment with stories and tales and adventures! And each day, I am fortunate to enter this place!

No admission fee is charged to take this ride; admission is free! And quite honestly, I visit throughout the day! I "sneak away" from the world of software testing and tan cubicles even while my body remains fixed in the chair, to bring life to this old mind! To write, to draw and paint; these are my passages to an amazing land! Oh, what's so fascinating? What's to be seen there? Skies where clouds rest just above head and water, crystal clear, full of glittering fish, large or small! Beautiful horses, with gleaming chestnut brown hides and white and black. Their "neigh" is loud as a trumpet and their trot like small thunderclaps! There are people busy working, but enjoying every moment of it. Women who love their men and their children and husbands who cherish their wives above everyone else! Music is heard every hour of the day and well into the night. And in this place, joy, peace and love rule the land! The adventure in this land is a result of exploration and it is an endless journey!

Come, go with me one morning! As a matter of fact, I invite you to go any time you are so inclined! Simply step away from the concerns of this world and let your mind take you where joy, love and peace rule!

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 - Pencil

"Here! Go work with this for a while!"

Simple low-tech device and practically useless in a digital age! But remember, batteries lose their change and wall outlets aren't always available!

Some days, that's how it begins, a simple pencil. I have to admit, having spent years in college, I learned to choose my pencils carefully. I have a collection of several tones of pencils, everything from a 6H to a 6B. They produce tones from a pale grey to a very dark grey. But that's how it begins, that and a white page. A line, on a page, usually in the top left side of the page to ensure no space is wasted.

Quite honestly, I don't usually begin the process with a preconceived concept. Most days, this just feels like drills to warm up. But in the process of allowing my fingers and unconscious to connect, shapes, tones and shadows appear. An idea or theme comes to mind. I am off to shaping and planning; developing this idea with that shade of grey.

It's like that each morning, as I sit to write,  except I have "you" in mind. What will you say? What do you need today? As importantly, what should be expressed and where am I being lead? I don't get to set the tone of your life, or determine how the light and shadows play across your face. But I know that words, the expression of concepts, intentions and hope, contain power! And using this "pencil" is my way of lending my voice to the throng sending out truth and light!

Thought for The Day - Capturing a Moment

A few years ago, getting back to painting and drawing, I wanted to "capture the moment," to preserve images in my head, on canvas and paper. But at the same time, I was aware that the beauty of the moment was that it was transitional, transcendent. Certainly we have memories and words capture the tone, but nothing can capture that moment you turn, look up, catch a glimpse of light, shadow, colors and movement. The image, the memory is one that happens in a stream. We are only "here" for seconds and we are on to the next and the next.

Today, I think differently. I reason that this image, this moment will come along in one form or another, some other time. And quite honestly, it doesn't matter if I recognize it as such; just realize life moves on, good things (and some bad) comes back around and every day is an opportunity to experience life anew!

I have a head full of images, words, memories and concepts. I could write all day, paint all day and walk the streets of Chicago from sunup to sundown! But the external is a shadow of what remains unseen and I am not the sole "recorder of deeds." We are in this life together and we share this journey.

Thought for The Day - Gradations, Variations and Textures

As you can see, I love color...seriously, it never occurred to me, since I began painting years ago, that it should be any other way. I also love mixing and layering colors to get the effect of movement, light and shadows. For me, it's always felt like, even a wall, painted white, had variables and grades of white and shadows. There always seems to be more going on, everywhere and that life is this wonderfully complex movement. It's beginning and end, none of us will ever comprehend and quite honestly, that only lends to the mystery and majesty!

Tactile sensations...running my fingers across tile, polished and white, there are variations, tiny spots where the pores of the clay beneath the glaze, can be experienced. It's like skin, experienced in all it's wondrous complexity, with patience and intent. The clouds above, a child's opportunity to create without moving a finger, to imagine and see elephants floating above. There are shades, and colors and stories floating above, and not just for children. The clouds I see today, have seen a farmer's eyes, traveled over roads, dipped into valleys and stirred another's sense of wonder.

This sense of creation, the sense of wonder is one I cherish. It is my hope to render it in words and images. It is my hope to share my sense of astonishment at God's ability to amaze us!

Thought for The Day - One Day

One day,
I'll wake early
Head to the basement
Turn on music
The lights
And sit in front of the easel four hours
But today
I sit in the dark
And stare at the dimly lit scene
And imagine...

One day,
I'll walk the land
The hills and valleys
Small streams running here and there
The sound of trees moved by breezes
High above
And the sound so deafening
It's as if I were in the middle of the ocean
But today, I sit in silence
The gurgle of aquariums around me

One day,
I'll take my brown horse
With his strong legs
And cross fields
Watch deer run
And birds fly
I'll ride from morning to evening
Making a complete circuit
Timing my day
With breaks in between
Sipping water
Eating an apple
Sitting under a tree
But for now
I close my eyes and imagine it all

One day,
Ill stare out the window from my studio
Seeing the pond behind my place
Watching the rain fall
And the land soaking it in
I'll sip tea
While reclining in my overstuffed chair
Sketch pad sitting in my lap
And then I'll get back to work
Creating worlds
Emotions
And Dreams...

Thought for The Day - No Limitations

Vast as an ocean
Large as the sky
And we are lost in the expanse of it all
Floating...
Drifting...

Consider the possibilities!

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 - What Lies Beneath

It's a line, a stretch of land or fabric; who knows "what" it really is. But it hides something underneath...

Fantasy

Imagination

Peeling back the layers of what we normally perceive, to allow our minds to see another reality...

Thought for The Day - Rain Dance

Defying the illusion...

Typical for me these last few years, I've been awake for several hours. Regardless of the season, I'm awake well before sunrise. Growing up, on occasion, I would wake to use the bathroom around 5:15 or thereabouts and find my father, either in the living room reading the bible or praying, or in the kitchen preparing to leave for work. I remember thinking what a terrible time to start the day! And every now and then, the idea that my day might come would get a frown and shaking of my head. Well here I am around the same age he would have been at the time. Rising early has become so commonplace, sleeping until 6:30 feels foreign.

I turned a few minutes ago to look at my latest work, "Open Portal" and a thought came to mind: "this might be a waste of time; you might want to settle into your Quality Assurance role until retirement." That familiar frown and shaking of the head occurred, except like a strategic warrior, I'm fighting reality. The sky says I will wake tomorrow, board a train headed to the Chicago Loop and I will sit at a desk. I will test software and find defects, discuss the work with coworkers, etc. But in my heart, those colors I see on the paper over my shoulder, they are reality.

Like a rain dance, it's not practical, but it is necessary. I am defying what is before me in hopes of recreating reality. You see, while the world seems to be composed of what we see, there is a world that exists behind the visible world. It is the world I bring to bear on paper and canvas. It is the world where life is vibrant and energetic; where possibilities are ENDLESS!!!

Thought for The Day - Peering into the Void

The Portal (working title...in process) 12 x 18 pastels

Many things can be said and when words are few...

I spent sometime yesterday working on the latest piece; a working title "the portal." As challenging as it is to define, designate a title, it's as difficult or rewarding to stare at the work and be flooded with a hundred variables. Typically, I don't get hours on end to sit and work, never mind actually sit and stare, but whatever I'm permitted, I feel multiple approaches flooding my mind.

That might explain the variable colors and textures...to best capsulize the process, there are colors and shapes and textures, layered upon one another. In my head, it's like a well written story, with plots and sub-plots, twists one never expects and even after the climax, there are subtle side stories continuing to run.

Sitting, staring, looking down a path and watching life unfold...sometimes one concentrates on one spot; other times, the mind tries to process every detail simultaneously.

A Blank Page

Quite a few years ago I discovered I could write. Writing wasn’t my major in college and though I wriinge ‘theme’ and ‘term’ papers was part of school years, it wasn’t necessarily what I wanted to do. So when ideas for stories and poems begin to flow, it was a surprise. One of my earlier writings and one that epitomizes the creative process for me was the “A Blank Page.” Here's the poem:

I sit,
Watching the blank page
And its vast starkness tell stories.
Images take shape
Men fight their way through battles,
Swords slashing and hacking
Women love deeply
And embrace
As though giving away breath from their lungs.
In this ‘emptiness’ there are words
Some spoken below a whisper
Yet their power is felt by the soul
Stories pour from a space that seems to contains nothing
Yet there is so much there
It can be misunderstood or misread as writer’s block, or Artist’s cramp.
Yet it is there,
Dancing,
Active,
Waiting for you to peel back the white and reveal the flesh beneath.
Take an adventure with me as we push past the mundanity of our lives,
Let’s go where children are purposely conceived and planned for,
A place where a walk through meadows green is a journey to discover secrets.
Let’s go to a place where one’s name is rarely told because words are powerful and revealing a name is akin to revealing one’s soul.
Leave the land where pages are for numbers and the reporting of what we know already.
Mount your imaginations and let’s go!

Okay, that's it for now. Let me know what you think!