This week… in between painting and writing and other pressing projects I walked on the beach… even though it’s still a bit chilly here.
The sand was cold as I kicked off my shoes… but the sun was warm on my back.
Shells lay scattered along the shoreline after the tide went out. What a surprise to see them there on such a busy beach. I picked up a few and put them in the toe of my shoe to take home… even though I know you’re not supposed to take shells away from the beach. Oops…
Earlier… driving down to the beach I had been held up at every red light. I couldn’t believe my bad luck. I turned up the radio and drummed my fingers on the wheel.
Come to think of it… waiting in traffic doesn’t bother me all that much anymore. I’m actually getting pretty good at it! *wink* It’s a good time to think and mull over ideas. Like in the shower. Or walking in general. And other places you might find yourself without a pencil to write anything down. [grin]
Finally I wheeled around into the street that fronts the beach.
The place was crowded.
All the parking spaces were taken.
Except for one.. where a car was just pulling out!
Eureka!
It occurred to me then how lucky I was to have arrived just when I did.
And how grateful I was for all those red lights!
A second earlier and that park would not have been free.
A moment later and it would have been taken.
Had that one perfect parking spot not opened up for me right when it did… I might have driven around endlessly… or given up entirely and gone home.
This time… in iMovie [progress indeed for this non-techie artist - grin]
And ‘lucky you’ will get to see the watercolor process in all it’s ugly early stages through to near completion!
Anyway it was a lot of fun…
and I hope you like it.
The original watercolor painting JoyFlight 22″ x 30″ is now available for sale [free of gallery commission] directly from the artist with 20% of proceeds from the sale of this original [and all reproductions] going directly to my favorite children’s charity the Starlight Children’s Foundation
Limited edition giclee prints are also being released and will be available upon request.
[Drop me a note over on the Contact page if you'd like to make a purchase]
I am also excited to announce that [from this week] I will be freeing up my Fridays to join the team in the Starlight Express Rooms
at the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane as their newest Art Funteer
[where I suspect I will end up having even more fun than the kids!]
Watch this space for ongoing updates…
wish me luck okay?
The internet is fast becoming the Wild Frontier with new threats turning up daily to disturb the equilibrium online. There are cowboys out there everywhere. But gone are the days of the high noon shoot out for those who write malicious code and wreak havoc on innocent websites [like mine] all in the name of a buck.
It’s wrong. And a serious pain in the neck when it happens.
But it happens.
Back ONLINE [after a massive amount of work] I’m now looking forward to a new web host and a more secure operating platform from here on in.
Funnily enough I had this article “good to go” just before things went a bit pear shaped here… and so the topic is now more relevant than ever!
Inspiration often comes from the unlikeliest of places. And this week it came from half way around the world. From a place I had never heard of… and will probably never ever go.
At first glance… the following film clip could look like the shameless promotion of a small derelict country town by a very large American company hoping to sell more jeans!
It occurred to me then… that the message behind these words has relevance beyond their intended goal. They speak as much of people and places anywhere… and could just as well be the voice of us all.
Frontiers are out there everywhere!
Whether by a town that needs rebuilding… a community that needs mending… or just one heart that needs encouragement and the strength to carry on.
Maybe the world really does “break on purpose” so we can have work to do?
And maybe things DO change to give us the chance to do something bigger… or better… or to help someone else“be all that”
At first it might seem like too much hard work… or too impossible to make a start… but for anyone who really wants it… new frontiers [greater opportunities and better possibilities] are out there everywhere just waiting to be found.
“People think there aren’t frontiers any more… they can’t see how frontiers are all around us”
I rarely get sick… but when I do… I have the habit of doing it rather spectacularly!
I’ve been under the weather for over a week now and I don’t want to be. But for now there’s not much I can do about it [except get better!] And the fact that I am writing this [at all] means I must be on the mend!
Progress!
I sometimes wonder if viruses aren’t nature’s way of slowing us down. Knocking us back into shape. And offering us the opportunity to take a breath and make a few recommended adjustments! [Grin]
Sometimes we get a bit out of sync.
We know we’re out of sync with what’s “meant to be” when life gets kind of clunky. We’re busy. We’re working. We’re doing all we can. But life’s not co-operating with the plan… [our plan!]
No surprises that there are a number of universal truths that might be at play here!
You WILL always get stuck in traffic on the one day you are late.
You WILL always get sick on the one day you miss your vitamins.
You WILL always miss the bus right before it rains.
You WILL always notice the speed camera right after you sail past the sign.
You WILL discover the hole under the arm of your favourite jumper just when you were getting comfortable in it!
You WILL only notice barking dogs crying children and the low distant thump of sub woofers when you’re sick and you’re trying to write!
You know what I mean… [chuckles]
Learning to accept what’s “meant to be” sometimes seems like the hardest thing!
But resistance is useless!
Life won’t be forced…
because Life IS the force! [grin]
Sometimes we just have to shrug and say
“For now THIS IS what’s meant to be!”
[And look for the lesson in there somewhere - grin]
Last night’s super cool giant oval orange moon – amazing eh?
John Lennon once wrote…
“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”
He was right.
It could just be those “other plans” that get us so unravelled…
and sometimes there is real value in letting them go!
Letting go allows “what will be” to simply BE…
and that’s [more often than not] when things just magically happen.
That’s all for now… paracetamol and back to bed!
Comments [and commiserations] gratefully received… and promptly replied to!
PS Take a look at this you tube clip. I have the DVD. Don’t you think Deepak has the most reassuringly soothing voice? (((chuckles)))
