Art, Meaning, Green Living & Health
Art, Meaning, Green Living and Health
(see "TOPICS", below)
4/29/2010 11:53:10 AM
Spring is in full bloom, after a long wet winter. Recently I set out to find some flowers to paint in celebration.
The Heartline Cafe in Sedona is always a reliable place to find all kinds of flowers in bloom during the season. And sure enough, alongside a busy highway I found a beautiful clump of irises against the red rocks.
As I sat sketching them in bright pastels, it occurred to me that they are true gifts of beauty, bravely being themselves in all their glory in an unlikely setting. Cars rushed by on the grey highway behind, traveling as we all often do these days, at a speed that often prevents us from taking notice of the small things.
But today I took notice. And in these simple flowers, I found this message:
Love’s Heart Revealed
Lost by the wayside,
But not entirely unnoticed,
Fragile and fleeting blooms.
Such ancient origins,
They live only right now.
Both eternal
And transitory.
Love’s heart revealed anew.
– Susan Pitcairn
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This piece has sold, but a similar piece, "Scent of Iris," is available. Phone 928.203.1095.
4/11/2010 3:24:38 AM
"Beyond Words" (24x24) is an experiment in a more abstract style, different than my usual landscapes and figures.
Really, it is an homage to the beauty of silence, the truth of the inner kingdom of heaven, of stillness, that can be felt within.
In the outermost rings the words are written (thoughts) that are negative, despairing, some extremely so.
As the spiral of words moves closer to the center they become more neutral, and then more positive, until finally they transcend these polar opposites of the thought itself and dissolve into the magnificence and purity of the light. This piece has had a strong effect on those who have seen it in person.
Available for sale.
4/11/2010 3:14:02 AM
Awake in a still night, so peaceful. Somehow this seems more real than daily life. My, we get busy in daytime. Pause and take a breath...
Artists express themselves in form. All life, indeed, expresses itself in form.
And yet when it is dark, when sounds are few, when the mind is fairly quiet, there is sometimes this recognition of the kingdom of heaven within, spoken of for ages.
It is a mystery how, out of this spacious potential, life arises, ideas arise, inspirations arise, words arise, symphonies arise and visions arise.
If I can accomplish one really good thing with my art in this life, it would be to learn how to paint completely out of an awareness of stillness, of the sacred.
Many artists sense and sometimes talk about this, but how little we speak of it in formal art training. How little we speak of it in daily life.
And yet there is this sacred stillness, perhaps everywhere, all around, within and without, and at all times, if we but stop.
Listen.
Look.
Sense.
And smile.
Joy and peace to all.
