I’m really into monochrome right now. I love the great variety available using black, gray and white. I’ve decided to do my illustrations for Kevin the Complainer this way, utilizing other colors for symbolism or emphasis.
painting
Peace in Unlikely Places
“Instead of seeking liberation in some future moment, realize that the “limitations” you are experiencing right now are openings into presence…into space. When you surrender to that, you are rooted into the formless and deep peace.
Nothing in the world of form matters that much.”
Eckhart Tolle
Yellow – Corn – Wealth
The yellow poppy symbolizes wealth. This is due, in part, to a legend:
“It’s mainly due to some legends and stories that these meanings were attached to the flower. According to a Greek legend, the poppy was the creation of the god of sleep. Helping the goddess of corn when she lost her daughter, the poppies were used to sooth her to sleep.
If she rested the corn grew and because she fell asleep, the corn started to grow again. It’s viewed that the poppies are essential to the growth of corn. Corn is more than food but also a source of income. That’s why yellow poppies mean wealth.”
Source: https://www.auntyflo.com/flower-dictionary/yellow-poppy
Mmm…What’s up, Doc?
Bunnies can turn their ears 180 degrees.
No Problem
Jiddu Krishnamurti: “Do you know what my secret* is? I don’t mind what happens.”
By this, he did not mean blindly accept everything (oppression, violence, etc.) but to accept reality, and to not be “put off” by unforeseen circumstances. This is where you must start before exacting change or growth.
He lived by the tenet, “I don’t mind at all.” So I decided that would be my mantra today.
I sat down to paint. “Caroline, can you help me get my car to the garage for servicing?” I don’t mind at all.
And then I wanted to take a bath. “Honey, can you help me fix the window?” I don’t mind at all.
Throughout the day, I was called upon to do something unplanned and I thought, I don’t mind at all.
Saying it to myself in response to these events, I felt my body relax and my brain say, “This isn’t a big deal, I’m happy to help.”
I still managed to get my work done and I just completed a painting. I’m about to take a bath now…unless, of course, someone needs me.
*secret to complete inner peace
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
I pack my daughters’ lunches on school days. Yes, they’re teenagers and could do it themselves and no, I’m not spoiling them. I do it because it really is a pleasure for me.
Monday, I packed chicken quesadillas. I used Costco shredded cheese. Literally, it says “Mexican Blend Cheese“:
Ava comes home and says, “The Mexican boys at my table saw my lunch and asked me why you use yellow cheese. I told them that I have a Korean mom.”
!
Tuesday, I packed garlicky pasta. Because I’m so nice and thoughtful, I taped a piece of gum on the thermos:
No comment from the peanut gallery teens.
Wednesday, I packed Korean sticky rice and threw in some dried seaweed. Ava says she wants to be more vegetarian, so I thought this was perfect.
She came home and said, “I got so much teasing over my Asian lunch.”
Thursday, I packed more Korean sticky rice and baked tilapia. But when I looked for small tupperware, I had none. I’ve decided to stop using plastic bags (you know, the ocean and all) and so I had to use the zipper pouches I wrote about before:
Yes, I put fish in a bag.
That afternoon, Ava comes home and sighs.
“Could you please pack lunches that won’t get me beat up*?”
*Obviously, she’s not really getting beat nor bullied.
Inktober
I should could be working on my National Board Certification, but I wanted to do this instead. Drawing and painting help me get centered, as long as I embrace imperfection.
This is the first in a series of lessons in Lisa Congdon’s Inktober challenge (Creativebug.com). I’m supposed to use ink, but I don’t have any yet. So I used watercolor.
Moms and Roses
My mother is in Korea right now and I miss her.
Watercolor & Resist
I’m traveling and I left my fine paintbrush at a friend’s house. So I thought I’d try wax resist using a white art pencil and on the lettering and then paint over it. It “kind of” worked out. A white crayon might work better. I’ll paint this bag again when I get home. It was fun!
Distillation
In drawing and painting, I am cultivating “my style.” I am definitely not someone who likes (or can) make realistic faces and people. In elementary school, I excelled at stick figures with faces of tiny dots for eyes, no nose and semi-circle mouths.
But this was a fun and relatively easy portrait painting that I learned from August Wren on Creativebug.com. I like the bold colors and rough frame.
Kismet 