Laura

Whaaat?

An excerpt from an article on beginning watercolor:

"It's better to never get in the habit of sucking brushes."


People suck brushes? Learn something new every day.

Laura

Laura - opens this weekend

I have the role of Laura in "Laura" at Possum Point Theatre. Opening night is Friday, January 31, 7:30 p.m. The show runs through two weekends, evening performances at 7:30 and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. The show is a psychological thriller and features a portrait of Laura which hangs in her apartment. Obviously, it's a self-portrait, which I was asked to paint for the show. The painting is 22 x 36 in oil, and I have spent more hours on this painting than any other. Self portraits are very difficult, for many reasons. For this one, I had the help of Alan Tuttle, a recent resident of the area, who is also an incredibly gifted artist. It's been very challenging, but also very fulfilling, and I learned a great deal.

I will post a photo of the painting from the stage sometime this week. Hope you can make it!

Dreams

Today's Post Secret Fave

January sucks. Really. Especially post-marathon. While I "HAD" to go out and run in the wind and cold while training, now I don't have to...so I don't. And now am slipping into the stay-inside and putter around mode that January and February are perfect for. Except I hate it.

A re-post from years ago. I am not the author, but love these suggestions.

These are a few of the lessons I wish I’d started learning a little earlier. I haven’t mastered them yet, but now you get a head start.


1. Consider the source. If you’re worried about someone who dislikes you, first ask yourself whether they’re an asshole. If you don’t like them, and they don’t like you, that’s not a problem. That’s a mutual understanding.

2. Get off the couch. If you find yourself playing hard to get, don’t pretend to be busy. Just be busy.

3. Don’t waste your time. If you have to play hard to get, move on. You’ll know when you’ve found a healthy relationship because it won’t confuse you.

4. When in doubt, shut up. Silence is a smart negotiation tactic, the best option when you’re processing how to respond, and always more productive than lying about what you’re thinking.

5. Don’t complain. Maybe venting makes you feel better, but letting off steam can also lull you into maintaining the status quo. Unfortunately, the status quo is pissing you off, which is why you’re whining in the first place. If you’re frustrated, turn that energy toward fixing your problems, not bitching about them.

6. Don’t obsess. Worrying is complaint’s ugly cousin. Either use that energy to change your situation, or relax.

7. Find an age-appropriate style. No one wants to see a 20 year old in beige slacks and a wool blazer. Buy trendy clothes, wear the slutty dress, do something ugly with your hair. Be part of your generation, so you can laugh at the photos later.

8. Be polite. It keeps doors open, lessens the potential for misunderstandings, and increases the odds of getting invited back to the beach house.

9. But defend your boundaries. When someone isn’t taking no for an answer, clarify what you want, and then respond forcefully. Being polite to someone who isn’t hearing you is naive.

10. You look good. There’s no such thing as the hottest person in the room. Everyone is attracted to something different, so just take those odds and run with them.

11. Being nice is overrated. In fact, “nice” is the least interesting thing someone can say about you.

12. Keep it to yourself. “She seems nice” is an excellent thing to say about someone you don’t like. Particularly in the company of people you don’t know.

13. Know your audience. When you’re telling a story and someone interrupts you, let them.

14. Let your passion shape your profession. You know that thing your dad says? “If work wasn’t hard, they wouldn’t pay you to do it.” Please. There are professional rock stars, astronauts, puppy trainers, and bloggers.

15. Sex is personal. Don’t bother with one-night stands if they’re not your thing, and don’t judge people for enjoying them (or not). Waiting to sleep with someone doesn’t make you an uptight prude, and jumping into bed doesn’t make you a spontaneous adventure seeker.

16. Focus. The saying, “what you’re thinking about is what you’re becoming” isn’t just chilling, it’s a universal law. Be aware of how you’re investing your attention – including your words, and your actions.

17. Cut yourself a break. Don’t offer a running commentary on your own faults. When you do, the people around you listen. Give yourself space to change your character.

18. Don’t be intimidated. World travelers are just people who bought plane tickets. Pulitzer Prize winners are people who sit alone and write. You can break the most profound accomplishment down to a series of mundane tasks.

19. Choose good company. Ask yourself if a person makes you better or drains your life force. If the answer is B, you’re busy next time they call. And the time after that.

20. Enjoy your body. Odds are you’re more beautiful now than you will be again. Ask your roommate.

More Pablo

Because I can't get enough Neruda.

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”

― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

Things to leave behind - good stuff, for everyone to remember.

Never Gonna Happen

New Year's in Warrenton

Warrenton VA.  A cool little town that had a First Night Event on New Year's Eve. Non alcoholic, which was fine (with flasks in our purses). But the place was like a ghost town at ten o'clock. One sad little place was open, which was a history museum. Yawn. But it did have a lot of cool portraits of Lincoln. Some artists painted him with brown eyes, some with blue, and one was somewhere in between. Interesting. But at one point, Lorrie proclaimed (loudly) that "Warrenton sucks ***! The few people that were around got very quiet. It was a "Lorrie.....GEEZE!" moment. But hysterical just the same.

This is the old jail in Warrenton, you can see we were making the most of a boring situation.

Happy New Year!

OMG

I think it's 2 degrees out.

But at least there's snow.....wait...

Probably the best description of what love really is, that I've ever read.

Love isn't about what you give or what you receive. It's not about commitment, or honesty, or promises. It's not about respect, or desire, or communication, or understanding, or companionship. Ultimately, Love is about how you feel about YOU when you're with them. If you feel good about you, the rest of things comes very naturally. You WANT to listen... you WANT to only be with them... you would NEVER lie... or cheat... or break a promise... or disrespect them... because it goes against how you feel about YOU. And by disrespecting them, you see clearly how it disrespects yourself. THAT'S Love: When you see your own reflection in them, and couldn't/wouldn't even consider treating them like they don't matter.

Charles Orlando