Shrimp - October 14, 2009

Simplicity and greatness go together.
-- Monty Cralley

We have probably heard the phrase Keep It Simple thousands of times. It's possible we are mystified by it, even yet. So many things in life have seemed complicated: getting an education, starting a new job, advising children and friends. Not many things can be pursued without careful consideration. When we have approached situations carelessly, we have often blundered badly.

Keeping it simple means doing only the next right thing, not a sequence of fourteen things all at once. To keep something simple means to focus on only a tiny bit of the problem at a time. If we employ a little hindsight, we'll quickly recall how many situations began to improve as we attended to just a portion of them.

God never gives us more than we can handle. How many times have we heard that? It means we'll always be shown the way to handle something little by little, very simply, in exactly the order we need the information. Don't we see this is how it has always been? Why would it change now?

Today I need to listen. I don't need to figure out all my problems at once.

Karen Casey

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Shrimp
Sh in the Alphabet Series
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

We had an extra person in out alphabet exchange, so Sh became a letter for a card. I love this little guy.

Karen Casey, Ph.D., a Naples, FL resident since 1991, published Each Day a New Beginning, her first book, in 1982. This daily meditation book for women in recovery has sold more than 3 million copies. The 25-year Anniversary edition of Each Day a New Beginning was released in August, 2006. It was closely followed by The Promise of a New Day, another daily meditation book for both men and women in search of serenity. It has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Following on the heels of these two books, Karen has written 22 books with more on the way. In April of 2006 she published ALL WE HAVE IS ALL WE NEED and she published three more books in 2007. SERENITY was released in March. BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE, in April and in the December, a companion book to ITS UP TO YOU: A PRACTICE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR MIND.

S is for Sandwich - October 13, 2009

"Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy."

– Pyotr Tchaikovsky

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S is for sandwich
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

About Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Russian classical composer best known for the Nutcracker and Swan Lake ballets, was renowned for his passionate melodies and for bringing Western music into the Russian tradition. He was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk in 1840. He taught music until a widow offered her financial patronage, then retired to the country to compose full time. He never met his benefactor.. He died in 1893, just after the first performance of his Sixth Symphony, the "Pathétique."

Grazing in Westbroek - October 12, 2009

"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."

– Josh Billings

.Grazing in Westbroek

8" x 10" Watercolor on Yupo

I finally spent a little time with my new Yarka travel watercolor set. I like them. They are very rich in pigment. They are almost thick, and never really dry hard on the pallet. There is a stickiness to them, that keeps me from closing the lid and using them for travel, because all the pans stick to the lid. When you open up the lid, all the pans are stuck to it. I guess I could glue them down. Anybody have any ideas?

I learned a few things this time, about working on yupo.

It really does make a difference, if you wipe the whole sheet off with isopropyl alcohol before you start. It removes all the invisible little fingerprints that cause the paint to repel from the yupo. This is why they recommend that you handle yupo with cotton gloves.

I used a barely damp fan brush, to get the details on the grass. I let everything dry really well before I went back in and added the cattle. The whole painting still only took me 30 minutes. I enjoyed the process a lot.

About Josh Billings

Josh Billings was the pen name of folksy American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw. He was born in Massachusetts in 1818. After he was thrown out of college for stealing the clapper from the school bell, he roamed far and wide for 26 years before settling down in Poughkeepsie, New York, as an auctioneer. His essays were initially snubbed; he became successful only after he adopted a more eccentric phonetic spelling. He was best known for his annual Old Farmer's Allminax. He died in 1885.

33 Weeks - October 11, 2009

"I accept the fresh ideas that are flowing toward me, and I am grateful for having an open mind with which to receive them."

The Don't Sweat Affirmations
by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.

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33 weeks
3" x 4" Watercolor

My niece sent me a 33 week photo that she took of herself in the mirror. I just had to paint this little painting for her. Her and her husband have been trying for over five years to get pregnant. Finally, they got their miracle! My niece has such a beautiful soul, that I just can't wait to meet her child. They live so far away, that I may have to wait a while, so I'll celebrate with her through an exchange of photos and paintings.


Richard Carlson Ph.D. (16 May 1961 – 13 December 2006) was an author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who rose to fame with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff (1997), which became one of the fastest-selling books of all time and made publishing history as USA Todays bestselling book for two consecutive years ^[1]. It also spent over 100 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was published in 135 countries, and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages^[2]; thereafter Carlson went on to write 20 books.[3

R is for Radish - October 9, 2009

"Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich."

– Sarah Bernhardt

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R is for Radish
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink





Here we are.... the last two days on the ArtNowForAutism auction. Everything that's left is $30. Go take a look. Let's leave them with nothing and support a good cause.

About Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt, the French stage and silent film actress known as the Divine Sarah, was born in Paris in 1844 as Rosine Bernard, the illegitimate daughter of a Jewish courtesan. She began her acting career at age 13 and quickly rose to international stardom. Oscar Wilde wrote the play Salome for her. After her right leg was amputated in 1915, she continued to perform onstage with a prosthetic limb. She was very close to her only child, her son Maurice. She died in 1923.

Q is for Quince - October 8, 2009

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well."

– Diane Ackerman

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Q is for Quince
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

About Diane Ackerman

American poet and nonfiction author Diane Ackerman has written more than 20 books and is best known for the eloquently written best seller The Natural History of the Senses. She was born in Illinois in 1948. While working toward her Ph.D. at Cornell, she studied both arts and sciences, feeling "the universe wasn't knowable from only one perspective." She has a molecule named after her: the dianeacerkone. She lives in upstate New York with her novelist husband.

P is for Peppers - October 7, 2009

"According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumble bee cannot fly."

There are times when we must go beyond all logic and take a chance with what we feel. These are the times when everything and everyone shouts No at us, and yet something deep inside says, "Go for it!"

We must go with our own convictions, our own conclusions. Life is too short for us to be led by the conclusions of others when we do not agree that they are right for us.

I am filled with the strength and energy I need today to follow my own truth. I am willing to take risks today and find out for myself what works for me in my life.

Time for Joy Daily Affirmations by Ruth Fishel

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P is for Peppers
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Pen

This is one of my favorite little ATCs. I'd like to do some more peppers, in acrylic perhaps.

ArtNowforAutism is doing a reverse auction to raise money for autism research. The first two days, the artwork was all $90 each. Today, they went to $60 each. They will stay there today and tomorrow. On the 9th and 10th, they will be $30. Check it out. There is some beautiful artwork there. They raised $2660 in the first two days. I'd love to see all of the donated artwork sell.

Ruth Fishel, is a therapist, retreat and workshop leader, and author of several books, including "Precious Solitude," "The Journey Within, A Spiritual Path to Recovery," a pioneer book on meditation, spirituality, and recovery, and the best-selling "Time for Joy." She also teaches "Stop! Do You Know You’re Breathing?" a program she developed for teachers and health care workers. She now co-directs Spirithaven, Inc., which she co-founded in 1989.

O is for Orange - October 6, 2009

Self importance is our greatest enemy. Think about it - what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellowmen. Our self importance requires that we spend most of our lives offended by someone.
--Carlos Castaneda

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O is for Orange
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

Today, I was looking at Leslie White's wonderful Blog and I checked out an artist on her blogroll, Rog Lyngaas'. Oh my! Go see his beautiful Idaho landscapes. It's fun to discover new artists.

Carlos Castaneda (25 December 1925 – 27 April 1998) was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages. The books and Castaneda, who rarely spoke in public about his work, have been controversial for many years. Supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy and descriptions of practices which enable an increased awareness. Critics have tended to claim that the books are works of fiction, citing what they see as their internal contradictions and Castaneda's description of a peyote culture that, to them, did not exist.

In his books, Castaneda narrated in first person what he claimed were his experiences under the tutelage of a Yaqui shaman named Don Juan Matus whom he met in 1960. Castaneda wrote that he was identified by Don Juan Matus as having the energetic configuration of a "nagual," who, if the spirit chose, could become a leader of a party of seers. He also used the term "nagual" to signify that part of perception which is in the realm of the unknown yet still reachable by man, implying that, for his party of seers, Don Juan was in some way a connection to that unknown. Castaneda often referred to this unknown realm as nonordinary reality, which indicated that this realm was indeed a reality, but radically different from the ordinary reality experienced by human beings who are well engaged in everyday activities as part of their social conditioning.

N is for Nuts - October 5, 2009

Have great hopes and dare to go all out for them. Have great dreams and dare to live them. Have tremendous expectations and believe in them.

Norman Vincent Peale
Positive Thinking Every Day

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N is for Nuts
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor & Ink

Another one for the alphabet exchange.

Way Fun Canvas Totes - October 4, 2009

"It is good to act as if. It is even better to grow to the point where it is no longer an act."

– Charles Caleb Colton

Way Fun Canvas Totes

Acrylic on 12" x 12" Recycled Totes

English minister and author Charles Caleb Colton was best known for his book of essays, Lacon, or Many Things in Few Words. He was born in 1780 in England. He was an avid collector of both wine and paintings and was known as an eccentric for his lifestyle, which was both lavish and ramshackle, and for his church work, which was sometimes brilliant, sometimes slipshod. After leaving the ministry, he lived in Paris for many years. He died in 1832.