Halloweeeeeeen

Brilliance in advertising. I'll take him over the Dos Equis guy anyday.

Rooftop

In progress

Simple, but complicated at the same time. so many blues, so much softening and blending needed. Still a ways to go, but a fun journey. I think it's 24 x 36.

Sea Witch 2013

Sherry and I have been painting at Sea Witch for quite a few years now. It's backbreaking and fully volunteer, but we never get tired of the kids faces when they look in the mirror. They are so psyched and probably would carry the mirror around with them if we had them to give away.

Happy Halloween!

Sea Witch!

It's that time of year again. Sherry and I will be face painting at Sea Witch all weekend. All proceeds benefit the Sussex Family YMCA's Strong Kids Campaign. Bring your kids, grandkids - and we paint adults too!

Trust Yourself.

Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live. - Goethe

 This has been my go-to quote for about ten years now. There are times when my confidence gets shaken, and when it does, it's almost always because of the action(s) of another. The last ten years have been about becoming stronger, trusting myself, doing the best I can, being kind and giving, and removing myself from situations or relationships that eat away at my happiness. I've learned that when something is not working, it's time to make a change. The difficult part is being SURE, and then never looking back. No regrets can happen, with a well thought out decision. 

When I have found myself in a "trapped" situation (we're only trapped when we allow ourselves to be) my confidence fails me. I allow others to convince me that I lack compassion, or passion, or may be selfish or closed off. Those behaviors only show their unattractive heads when manipulation, control or being treated with disrespect walk in the door. Those behaviors are self-protective mechanisms. When we are with someone we trust, there is little need for self-protection, because people we love and trust don't take advantage of walls that have been let down.

 So for this day, I can say with confidence and with total trust in myself that:

I am a good person.

I am compassionate and giving.

I am warm and passionate and giving and receiving of love.

I will not sacrifice my integrity or identity to suit the needs of another.

I am happy. I don't need anyone to "make me happy" or to complete me. I am not here to make someone else happy. The next person to enter my life will contribute to my happiness, not deplete it, and I will do the same for him.

 Below is an excerpt from a "How to Stop Being a Doormat" article:

7. If All Else Fails

If you’ve truly done all you can to change things and to stop being treated like a doormat and nothing seems to work, then get the hell out. Life is way too short to have your experience of it and your self-esteem damaged by someone else, and sometimes you need to make a brave choice.
If you need to, be willing to remove yourself from the situation or relationship and start building the kind of life you’d love to live.

Silk

“You’re going to meet many people with domineering personalities: the loud, the obnoxious, those that noisily stake their claims in your territory and everywhere else they set foot on. This is the blueprint of a predator. Predators prey on gentleness, peace, calmness, sweetness and any positivity that they sniff out as weakness. Anything that is happy and at peace they mistake for weakness. It’s not your job to change these people, but it’s your job to show them that your peace and gentleness do not equate to weakness. I have always appeared to be fragile and delicate but the thing is, I am not fragile and I am not delicate. I am very gentle but I can show you that the gentle also possess a poison. I compare myself to silk. People mistake silk to be weak but a silk handkerchief can protect the wearer from a gunshot. There are many people who will want to befriend you if you fit the description of what they think is weak; predators want to have friends that they can dominate over because that makes them feel strong and important. The truth is that predators have no strength and no courage. It is you who are strong, and it is you who has courage. I have lost many a friend over the fact that when they attempt to rip me, they can’t. They accuse me of being deceiving; I am not deceiving, I am just made of silk. It is they who are stupid and wrongly take gentleness and fairness for weakness. There are many more predators in this world, so I want you to be made of silk. You are silk.” -C. JoyBell C.

Strength

I saw this on a Facebook post, regarding strength in women. This short paragraph sums up something I have believed for quite a long time. 

A strong woman looks to one who compliments her - not in words, but in ability. She is complete in her own right. Yet she seeks the partner with which to share her passions, her sense of adventure, her ideas. Strong women need strong men - that is very true. We need men who stand on their own and are aroused by our strength and passion - who will rise to our minds, our hearts, and our bodies . Or better yet, they're already there.

Astigmatism, by Amy Lowell

Astigmatism

The Poet took his walking-stick
Of fine and polished ebony.
Set in the close-grained wood
Were quaint devices;
Patterns in ambers,
And in the clouded green of jades.
The top was smooth, yellow ivory,
And a tassel of tarnished gold
Hung by a faded cord from a hole
Pierced in the hard wood,
Circled with silver.
For years the Poet had wrought upon this cane.
His wealth had gone to enrich it,
His experiences to pattern it,
His labour to fashion and burnish it.
To him it was perfect,
A work of art and a weapon,
A delight and a defence.
The Poet took his walking-stick
And walked abroad.

Peace be with you, Brother.

The Poet came to a meadow.
Sifted through the grass were daisies,
Open-mouthed, wondering, they gazed at the sun.
The Poet struck them with his cane.
The little heads flew off, and they lay
Dying, open-mouthed and wondering,
On the hard ground.
"They are useless. They are not roses," said the Poet.

Peace be with you, Brother. Go your ways.

The Poet came to a stream.
Purple and blue flags waded in the water;
In among them hopped the speckled frogs;
The wind slid through them, rustling.
The Poet lifted his cane,
And the iris heads fell into the water.
They floated away, torn and drowning.
"Wretched flowers," said the Poet,
"They are not roses."

Peace be with you, Brother. It is your affair.

The Poet came to a garden.
Dahlias ripened against a wall,
Gillyflowers stood up bravely for all their short stature,
And a trumpet-vine covered an arbour
With the red and gold of its blossoms.
Red and gold like the brass notes of trumpets.
The Poet knocked off the stiff heads of the dahlias,
And his cane lopped the gillyflowers at the ground.
Then he severed the trumpet-blossoms from their stems.
Red and gold they lay scattered,
Red and gold, as on a battle field;
Red and gold, prone and dying.
"They were not roses," said the Poet.

Peace be with you, Brother.
But behind you is destruction, and waste places.

The Poet came home at evening,
And in the candle-light
He wiped and polished his cane.
The orange candle flame leaped in the yellow ambers,
And made the jades undulate like green pools.
It played along the bright ebony,
And glowed in the top of cream-coloured ivory.
But these things were dead,
Only the candle-light made them seem to move.
"It is a pity there were no roses," said the Poet.

Peace be with you, Brother. You have chosen your part. 

Amy Lowell

We all are.

Food for Thought.

25 things

Ah yes.

Oh, it's been so long....

So long since I posted this tribute to all that is great about America. This is for you, Congress.

Love, in all its different forms.

Beautiful, haunting images.

Boehner twerkin'.

I said....NO SODA MACHINE. dammit.