"Say cheese!"

My daughter is very proud of her new smile, and also pretty happy with the cash that has been rolling in from the tooth fairy.....lucky for me she's running out of teeth!

Happy accident??

Tonight I put lit candles throughout the house, it seems to have become a ritual now on child-free evenings, and it is usually accompanied by sushi...mmmm!.... later I discovered wax was dripping onto this painting. A portrait of my ex's cousin, it was promised to my ex- Aunty inlaw (Aunty ex-law?) around 15 years ago. Every 3-5 years I work on the painting, along with another one of his brother, and I vow to finish them.
Photo realism and painting portraits from photo's is tedious and boring --usually boring to look at as well. I thought I might actually get rid of them this time because they're so close to being finished, so when I turned and saw the wax dripping on dear cousin Jamie my first response was "Oh s#$% ! Upon further examination it seems to have made an unsual and pleasing effect. The painting medium is oil on stretched watercolour paper, and I find that the textures of the paper, the wax and the smooth paint seem to compliment one another. I might leave it as it is and keep the painting to myself (I don't think Aunty exlaw will like the wax).
I'm hoping the wax doesn't absorb the pigment out of the paint, in case I decide to peel it off....that might have a cool effect too.... who knows?.

A recent drawing I did of my daughter. I should draw more, I'm a bit rusty, but I quite like it. I love the energy in the lines when I draw from life. The hurried look of the shading lines and the subtle changes in direction create (I think) a vibrancy that breathes with life, although the lines are a little heavy handed because of my lazy lack of practise.

To fear or not to fear?

I have never understood why we are taught to fear God. As far as I can see fear has no place in perfect love, which is the love of God. If we are to become like him and he is without fear, why in religion are we taught to fear? Fear keeps us physically safe in the earthly realm, therefore I think must be a man made construct and as we move up the ladder of spiritual evolution it seems logical that fear would have no place . Humility, on the other hand, is essential for spiritual growth, and humbling oneself is the essence of repentance. Not relinquishing wrong deeds out of fear and guilt, but out of a desire to be at one with God, which is being at one with love where everlasting joy resides.
So if anyone is actually reading this and they have an opinion about whether fear is man made or God given, I'm interested to hear/read it.

My beautiful palette.

I had to post a picture of my beautiful palette. It has wheels, and underneath is a little shelf with an old phone book on it so I can wipe the paint residue off my palette knife. I love how all the colours are in order-- I learnt that at university (money well spent), it's so I don't have to think about where the colours are when I'm in the zone. Unfortunately I haven't been in the zone for a while, but the glistening paint surrounded by a forest of brushes continually beckons me to seek it out. I love paint, the look, the feel and smell of it, I really want to go to town and make a big mess, my paintings are far too contolled.

Free to dearest offer.

The Camden art show is coming up. It's a local show where artists can win money and/or sell their work. I have a couple of pieces I'm showing and I have to decide on a price for them. For me art and money are like oil and water, they can co-exist but not mix. Making art for money, I think, is like being Rumplestiltskin backwards and spinning gold into straw. But I guess straw keeps the stable warm.
I'm torn between wanting $1000,000 a piece or giving them away for free. Maybe I should ask for their first born (males only, must be 25 or over).

In the moment...."To be or not to be? That is the question."

I'm finding as this day progresses and each of my four children struggle to establish themselves at the top of the pecking order, that my not being in the moment is working as a tool for self preservation.

Eckhardt Tolle advises that if we are having a negative experience, and can do nothing to change it, we should go more deeply into the moment, without labelling it good or bad, without thought forms of any kind, just observe.
I put Eckhardt's suggestion to the test during root canal therapy. I have to say it absolutely worked! I focused on the light above me, on the feeling in my jaw which had been stretched open for an hour, the sounds and smells of the scraping drill, the chill in my other teeth from the suction device, the debris as it tried to find a way down the back of my throat, and on my overwhelming desire to swallow. I became acutely aware of everything that was happening without judging or labelling anything, and I found that all feelings about the situation disappeared. I felt relaxed and quite peaceful.

I'm going back out there now, to see if I can put it into practise while dealing with the little squabblers.