Hungry Dinosaur – July 31, 2009

“We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies.”
– Etty Hillesum

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That is soooo true! I used to be the biggest worrier on the planet!   I like life better without it!  **grin**

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About Etty Hillesum

Etty Hillesum, less famous than her contemporary, Anne Frank, lived a short life of great courage. She was born in 1914 in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Russian mother. She studied law, Slavic languages, and psychology. Hungry for knowledge, she cut down on food in order to buy books. She went voluntarily to the Westerbork camp to help fellow Jews interned by the Nazis. Her letters detail her experiences; her more meditative diary focuses on issues of faith. She died at Auschwitz in 1943.

Hungry Dinosaur
8″ x 10″
Acrylic on Canvas

Jello Split – July 30, 2009

More is not necessarily the answer.

We often think that if a little is good, more will be better, or that if we are not happy, it must be because we don’t have enough of something.

Wanting and craving. The desire for what we don’t have prevents us from appreciating and enjoying what we do have – right now, this moment. We often sell ourselves continual dissatisfaction by focusing on what we appear to lack.

So how much is enough? Can we learn to savor the blessings we have now, today? Do we really need more, or do we need to fully experience the gifts of the present?

I can always want more, but today I will concentrate on what I have right now.

Elizabeth L.

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Jello Split

(I really want Ice Cream)

2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor & Ink

I upgraded my browser to Firefox last night. Everything is acting different this morning. I’m sure that stepping into the newer technology will be good for me, but there is that learning curve. **sigh**

Fishies – July 29, 2009

Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone: it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.

–Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Everyone could use a new batch of love every day.. Way too often, we forget to make a new batch. Then we end up eating hard, old, crumbly stuff that doesn’t even taste good. We forget to talk with the people we love. We tell ourselves that they should “know” we love them, even if we haven’t called to connect with them for a long time. So we expect them to live off hard, old, dry crumbs too!

But baking a fresh hatch of love is a lot easier than baking bread. All we have to do is make a phone call, write a letter or an email, or stop by our mom’s house. We need to deliver the message that the people we love are important. What could be easier or more rewarding?

Today’s Action: I will make it a point to make a fresh batch of love today and deliver it – in person or in a phone call, email, or letter.

Anonymous

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Fishies

Acrylic on 6″ x 6″ x 1.5″ Canvas

Purple Tulips in a Row – July 28, 2009

Some of us have gone through life unconsciously expecting others to bring us happiness, to make our dreams come true, and to make us feel good about ourselves. When nothing seems to be going well for us, we blame it on the lack of external support – we’re not in a serious relationship, we don’t like our job, we don’t have the money to venture into our own business.

When we change our perspective – when we know and trust that we are responsible for our happiness, our dreams, and our feelings – we become empowered. No longer is the burden on someone or something that is either unreliable or nonexistent. We’d been giving this power to others; now it’s time to take it back, to make and be responsible for our own choices, to value our opinions, and to respect our intellect.Today I will give myself credit for all I am capable of, financially and otherwise.

Karen Casanova

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Purple Tulips in a Row

Acrylic on 6″ x 18″ x 1.5″ Canvas

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Art Now for Autism – July 27, 2009

“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.”

– Helen Keller

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Green Orchids

Two 4″ x 12″ x 1.5″

Acrylic on Canvas

This painting has been donated to Art Now for Autism for their auction. This is a great group of people. If you are an artist, it’s not too late to donate something.

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Ford Tractor – July 24, 2009

“Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them.”

 

– Elbert Hubbard

 

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Ford Tractor

4″ x 6″ Watercolor

Technicolor Cat – July 23, 2009

“Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.”

– Ovid

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Technicolor Cat

5″ x 7″ watercolor

Reba’s Bike – July 22, 2009

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be.”

– Groucho Marx

My philosophy to a T. 

 Reba’s Bike

5″ x 7″ Watercolor

We had our monthly girl’s night out last night. We all met at my friend Reba’s Lake Eufaula Bed & Breakfast. What a beautiful place! Reba has decorated it all herself and it is filled with wonderful antiques and a warmth like I have never seen. If you are ever planning a trip to Lake Eufaula, you really must stay there. I pulled a photo from her website and painted this little watercolor for her, as a hostess gift.

Fire Ant – July 21, 2009

“It is astonishing how little one feels poverty when one loves.”

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

 

“Fire Ant”

8″ x 11″ Linoleum Block Print

Four Oceans Press Exchange

Chainlink Vista – July 20, 2009

Iron rusts from disuse, water loses its purity from stagnation … even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.

–Leonardo da Vinci

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Chainlink Vista

4″ x 6″ Watercolor

with Sharpie Outline