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Another Melissa titled this painting, when I shared it over on my Facebook profile.
“I see an entire romance unfolding,” she added.
What do you see?
Hydrangea
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My back yard always had beautiful hydrangeas growing up. It’s one of the few plants I actually know the name of! The colors ranged from pink to purple, and all variations in between.
Then in 1996, in the shuttle from the SEA-TAC airport to my first calligraphy conference outside of Seattle, the bus passed a hydrangea with the most stunning blue petals.
Blue! Deep, vibrant blue!
There was a collective “Ooh!” from everyone looking out the windows, and someone (a gardener, obviously) shared that the colors are totally dependent on the soil, not the plant itself. Something about the acidity, if I remember correctly.
This strikes me as rather metaphoric. Our environments play a large part in shaping us as humans, too.
If you want vibrant petals, then, find the right kind of soil.
Trail of Daydreams
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I’ve been using an app lately that chimes a meditation bell at random intervals throughout the day.
Why? Because studies have shown that people are substantially less happy when their minds are wandering than when they’re not, and being mindfully present is highly correlated with greater happiness.
Knowing this, I want to practice being present in the present moment more often.
The random bell reminds me to get out of my head, out of the future, out of the past, out of worrying and anxiety, and come back to presence.
It’s kind of miraculous what a difference it makes in my life.
That said, just like this little green critter, I still love to daydream!
Reaching
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Notice something different? If you’ve been following my daily art posts, you might have been expecting a white background.
Surprise! I thought I’d try working on wood panels!
When Linda suggested the title “Reaching” for this one, it instantly resonated with me. This painting encapsulates the feeling I have when I’m reaching or striving.
Not when I’m striving from an ego place, looking for external validation, but when I’m striving for excellence from a place of fun, exploration, and giving back to the world.
What do you see?
Exhuberance
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When I start a painting, typically it’s with no preconceived ideas. I just start making marks, and see where that takes me.
(FYI, this is not my “native” way of working. Well, perhaps it was when I was 4, but as an adult, my work has mostly been very meticulously designed and executed, with the goal of manifesting a Platonic Ideal on the paper or canvas. Working improvisationally is my antidote to the perfectionist paralysis that my previous way of working had me trapped in!)
After I shared this image on Instagram, I asked people for title suggestions, and it was really amusing to discover what people saw in it.
A lot of people saw a hand-waving clown or a funny face. My favorite interpretation, though, was from Alison, who saw a little child in a onesy, crawling off the frame, leaving a trail of… ??? in her or his wake.
Floating
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One of my most memorable trips was back in 2003, when I went on a spiritual adventure to Hawaii. I’m not much of a swimmer (and I’m terrified of being near sharks!), but I got to snorkel just about every day, in the company of fish of all sorts, and many schools of wild dolphins.
The most magical part, though, was probably the night swim with manta rays. Divers attach lights to the bottom of a particular bay, which attracts plankton. If you’re lucky, the mantas then come to feed on the plankton.
We were lucky. 5 or 6 mantas (it’s hard to keep track in the dark waters!) performed a ballet just under my nose, doing belly rolls to scoop dinner into their maws.
It left me speechless.
Parade
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There’s a parade in my home town on the weekend closest to May 1st every year. It’s called the May Fete Parade, and it goes down the main shopping street, and I don’t remember where else.
The fire department comes out. People dress up their pets. And when I was really little, there was always a bevy of kids on their tricycles and Big Wheels.
It was the highlight of my year when I was four. I remember the thrill of pedaling my red trike past the pressing crowd.
My first performance, I guess.
Turning
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When the shapes emerged on this piece, I imagined that the leaves would all be green. But as I pulled out my watercolors and started painting, the leaves wanted to be turning.
I suppose that’s as good a metaphor for life as any. We are always in a state of flux, after all.
Blooming
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This is what it feels like to live a full-color creative life: always in a state of bloom!
Dreaming & Dancing
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Ah, dance. It was my first creative passion, and although I have many other passions I love and adore, I believe to this day that nothing makes me happier than dancing.
Many things may make me as happy, but nothing makes me happier.
Lisianthus
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Have you ever seen a flower just before it blooms, and then again just after? Magical, isn’t it?
Turtle Tricks
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When I was a kid I got a red-eared turtle. I named him King Turtley. He was about four inches long, and lived mostly in an aquarium (terrarium, really, as it had dry spots).
Sometimes, though, I’d take him outside, usually on days when I was cleaning out the terrarium. I’d put him on the lawn and he’d wander around, the blades of grass like small trees to him.
I still love turtles. Something about them just touches a tender, sweet spot in my heart.
This guy is entertaining the fish, drawing quite a crowd.
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