Coffee for Two - August 10, 2009

Lost warriors have only to open their eyes to find the right and good path.
-- Chief Red Mountain


.

Coffee for Two
5" x 7" Watercolor

I am tickled with the way this one turned out. The photo I used came from the WetCanvas - Reference Image Library and is by tanianault.

Hummingbird - August 7, 2009

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."

– Will Rogers

About Will Rogers

American humorist Will Rogers was considered the Mark Twain of his generation. He was born in 1879 in Oklahoma, of Cherokee descent, and left school early to become a cowboy. In South Africa his showy roping skills won him a job in a traveling Wild West show, and he quickly switched over to vaudeville and film acting roles. He wrote six books and 4,000 syndicated columns. An avid flier, he died in a plane crash in 1935.

.
Hummingbird
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor

This is from the saddle of a carousel horse. I was too chicken to paint the horse. *grin*

Jasper National Park - August 6, 2009

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

.

Jasper National Park
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor

Midway Girls - August 5, 2009

"Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure."
– Jack Lemmon
.


Midway Girls
4" x 6" Watercolor

Scratchy Moose - August 4, 2009

Today, I'll make a list of things that I would like to do, just for me and no one else.

My list can contain things I’ve always wanted to do: things that are fun, things that are relaxing, or things I’ve only dreamed of doing. I am beginning to realize what I want instead of what someone else tells me to want.

Judith R. Smith

.

.

Scratchy Moose

4" x 6" Watercolor & Scratch Art

on Clayboard

The Dancing Raven - August 3, 2009

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

.


The Dancing Raven
5" x 7"
Watercolor & Ink

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

That is soooo true! I used to be the biggest worrier on the planet!

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.

.

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

.

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

.

Purple Tulips in a Row

Acrylic on 6" x 18" x 1.5" Canvas

.