Foolish Notions? - Maybe??

The Fool

7" x 10 3/4"

Watercolor and Pencil

on Paper

Ok I'm not going to kid you, this image always reminds me of Shrek's Lord Farqhuat. It's a somewhat surreal image with odd shaped faces. That being said this painting ultimately is about marriage. 

And the question of the day is - marriages ultimately have a 50/50 chance of survival, so is it a foolish proposition? Ultimately a marriage is union, an agreement between two people. 


As souls having a human experience we have free will, and to be in a union either means sacrificing your free will or if your lucky you end up in a union where the thoughts, feelings and intentions of the pair are the same. Knowing what we do, about ourselves we need to look honestly at how well that is working for us. This kind of pairing is unique, and it requires like minds.

As we as individuals grow, we grow at a different pace and learn in our own ways. We know this intrinsically looking at the educational systems. It's not one size fits all. These are the characteristics that makes humans interesting and wonderful. Ultimately we need to be objective enough to look at the evolution of ourselves. And more often than not it is in this area that many unions fall apart at the seams. Often times when two people come together in a marriage agreement, our evolutionary process is not present or apparent or a priority. Without this in mind the two minds may very well be at the opposite ends of the earth. 

So let's flashback to the moment - the decision that one makes to enter into a marriage and the intentions behind it. I am just going to be blatant and honest. Some people marry for money, some for status, some because they think it will make them feel complete in other words it's a goal. Something that we must attain in order to feel or be accepted. The key question here is by whom? 

Regardless of those intentions we still evolve, it is our soul's journey. The only acceptance one should really be looking for is the one we have with ourselves. It is not our role to make someone else happy, but we can partake in it. Happiness comes from within. Our best gift to ourselves and to all others is our awareness. Now that doesn't mean marriages still won't fall apart, but to be completely aware and accepting of oneself you will come to realize forgiveness, and compassion even love, plus the ability to release without reams of negativity.

Life is your journey........ smell the roses!

Deep into the Shadows

Shadow & Light

23" x 15"

Watercolor and pencil on Paper

Today's painting is entitled Shadow and Light. This in short I claim to be my 'ode' to George W. Bush. This painting came to me just as George was rallying support to go to war in Iraq. The constant convincing on his part that there were indeed 'weapons of mass destruction', and the only thing I know is was what I felt at the time 'my gut feeling' as he would plead again and again on National Television. What I saw as he was speaking was a man lying and as he kept doing it to rally support he definitely got better at it. In fact I would pretty well say he's become very good at it.

Now I'm not here to bash Bush, my take is that he in fact is a puppet on a string, it's impractical to think that Mr. Bush really has that much power when there are so many around him advising and strategizing on his behalf. In fact Mr. Bush is just the face behind the machine 'The republican machine'. Now that is his choice of course or maybe it was truly a choice made for him by interpersonal influences, only he knows.

With that in mind the painting actually depicts something that we all struggle with and that is our shadow selves. This painting is of a figure with two faces, two sides. It is a internal struggle that we all deal with. We as human beings have free will to make our own choices. We are constantly faced with wanting to do the right thing, and sometimes we slip and do what we think is the right thing but for the wrong reasons and so on. The variables are endless but the struggle is the same. 

If you, like myself are on a spiritual path, you will definitely have come face to face with this struggle and probably still do from time to time. It's not always cut and dry, but we do get better at it and ultimately we must regain our intuitive power as to what is right, really right in any situation that we come to face. This alone can be very challenging with all the outside distractions and obligations that we have. In fact it gets down right unsettling when what the situation calls for you to do what makes you entirely uncomfortable even though it really is the right thing to do. It is I believe in those situations we have the most spiritual growth, and by this I mean the realization that we truly are only responsible to ourselves. Now that is not to say that we should not indeed be loving to others, in fact quite the opposite by being loving to ourselves first and foremost we are able to be more loving to others. And of course on the plus side we will attract the same into our lives.

The shadows may seem scary but they don't have to be if you enter them with love. 

The awakening of a cocoon

The above image is the last image in the mini community series entitled 'Chrysalis'. This is an image that depicts movement and flow from where we are to something different, simpler and unencumbered. Looking closely you will see an image of a person scurrying and leaving the rat race and walking into a place of simplicity. It is a story of awakening.

With awakening in mind, have you ever had one of those days, where you meet someone or talked to someone or are shown something and basically things you've heard, felt or experienced just all the sudden make sense.

Ok let me paint the picture for you. Now I am the a practical person, I don't believe in things blindly, especially when it's presented to me from an outside source. This is basically because the information of whatever being presented is within their realm of experience not mine. It's also the reason why I'll either wait for more material to be presented by another source or go researching deeper into it on my own. This is something I would caution everyone one to do.

I basically operate on how something makes me feel. Now like most, I am on a spiritual path I have experienced many wonderful things. Some of the meditations, dreams, and the space I'm in when I paint, could be described as out of this world.

So the other day I'm having a conversation with a friend, and he points me toward the David Wilcocks interviews done by Project Camelot.In my conversation with my friend the topic of channeling comes up. Since we both happened to be reading and coming in contact with information that is being channeled. There is a lot of it out there. And David Wilcocks is indeed a channeler. Now as I said before I am cautious, but as I was watching the interviews and he was talking many light bulbs starting going off for me. In fact many visions and dreams of what he was talking about I have experienced, kind of throwing me off guard. My one comment to my friend is with all these channelers I wonder if I'm missing out on something - and than the realization that I do in fact channel, through my paintings. As I said before, when I paint it is like I am in the zone, it's a meditation for me and truthfully it is the most peaceful feeling I have ever experienced and the paintings are my messages.

I happen to agree with David Wilcocks on his take about channeling by the way. The things is we are all capable of receiving the messages, it's part of our intuition, which we have shut off at a young age. The reason for that is, who would ever believe us. We felt alone with no one to talk to about these things. However, I believe there will be a lot more communication and sharing of these gifts in the near future. Till than stay open to receive and trust yourself.

We are awakening.

The Genesis of creation

Have you ever wanted a do over. You know the kind. Maybe there is a burning desire in you to just chuck it all and go someplace where know one knows your name and just start from scratch. For some this is a right of passage, for some this is a necessity, for some just a longing.

I do, I do often feel like just removing myself from the life I know and create a completely new life. Than I come to my senses, or should I say all the little voices start talking to me in my head. It's not that I don't like my life, hey things could always be better, but truthfully I am one grateful person for everything so far.

It's that mid-life thing. I want a little flare and excitement added to my life, but I would like it sans drama. Hee hee hee, maybe that's seems a little unrealistic. No DRAMA!!! No DRAMA!!!

I'm just thinking back and trying to remember moments in life with no drama, funny how they just don't jump out at you, and of course the dramatic moments come........ whoosh! Smack!

Maybe the trick is to be still ....... be quiet, in reflection or would that be more like contemplation? Which is exactly the state I'm in while I paint, actually I would it goes much more deeper than that. Much more deeper. Now I can't possibly tell you what other go through while they paint but for me it is completely serene, a place where I feel completed connected, to everything and nothing all at once. It is a two-way communication, like it says above 'at some point one must listen and respond'........... 'it's in the responding that we create magic'. So it's the listening that is the 'big deal', when we listen take note what it is your listening to. Is it your mind/ego, or your heart/intuition. It is my intuition that I listen to when it comes to my paintings.

And so that brings me to my next painting, entitled 'Genesis'. No, not the book of Genesis, but from the simple fact that from nothing comes creation. It's important to listen to one's intuition if you wish to create. In there lies your 'Magic'.

It's a small World after all

Well in the continuing series of community pieces I have to come clean. There was actually 5 pieces. The fifth piece which is hanging in South Carolina. Sadly I don't have a picture of that piece. It was reminiscent of the nativity scene. So I guess it could be connected to the other four in a way. I mean after all it takes a village to raise a child, isn't that what we always say.

And well after 9/11 and all the lives lost it really would take the village to raise the children of those whose sadly never came home. I will have to try to get a copy of that painting. For now it is the mysteriously missing link. (Duh-duh-duh)

Now as I am new to all this and you may come in a little late, this is the continuation of the exploration of my spirit through my art. Just a word of note here. Most of favorite pieces, ahhhh.... heck I should say all of my pieces I really didn't like them at all at first. They grow on you. Sort of like, they say it takes 7 times to share an idea or to sell somebody something before they bite. Apparently that's true in art too. 

The next community piece was aptly entitled Marketplace II. Believe it or not I don't think of the names as I'm painting that comes much later. 

A collage of different groups gathering. Now the groundwork for the series was all laid out at the same time which explains the same colors and tone. The featureless figures and and simple lines too. But that brings me to this. Growing up I would have been the first person to shun, walk away or just plain old not give abstract the time of day. 

Here's what I learned from letting go. In order to truly let go, you need to accept even honor the organic shapes. The thing is it's kind of fitting that they don't have specific features and here's the reason why. We live in a world where we separate, you have people with blonde hair and brunette and black and so on. There are people of many different skin tones too. No the people suggested in my paintings are what I would call spirit people and in this I mean truly we are all the same regardless of color and placement or by whatever means we choose to separate ourselves, we all have spirit.

We as forgiving, loving beings of conscience are united by an invisible thread that makes us all the same in more ways than we could possibly imagine. We come together in community for many different reasons, and ultimately we choose who we surround ourselves by. The important thing to remember and that is often forgotten is that out of need there is always a community there that is willing to help, accept, support and love. This is what comes across in the above painting, that there is many different types of community. 

This is a hopeful and inspirational image, a reminder that when one feels isolated, is looking for answers, support, or just plain someone to talk to it is never too far. All that is truly needed is the courage to ask for what is needed. In times of need we sometimes are too caught up in our own thoughts and worry in order to reach out. So be willing, willing to hear, willing to see, willing to believe in miracles no matter how big or small they may seem at the time. Be willing to receive.

With this in mind I encourage you to look around your life in reflection of the different types of community there is in your life.

It's a small world after all.