Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Harmony Travels with Compassion

Harmony Travels with Compassion
This angel was ready just in time for election day!  How fitting!  I can't count how many times I have said it.  For the longest time it was a joke at the office.  One thing that Rodney King and I have in common, is that I am always wondering "Why can't we all just get along?"  I mean it seems simple enough, I am nice to you, and you are nice to me.  It is something we were taught as children, but seem to forget as we get older.  Play nice, share, take turns...  all the common courtesies that we seem to forget when we get in our cars, and drive to the local Target or Walmart.  "Get the hell out of my way!" "Move your cart bimbo!"  "Do I look like I have all day?" It is something that we loose touch with when we log on to facebook, and someone has a different political view, religious outlook, or personal life style.  We are so self focused that we think we know how other people should live, love, and vote.  We think that because we care about something, then everyone else should, and if they don't, well, they must just be going to hell in a hand basket!  This is where we go wrong.  People are not going to change their point of view just because we tell them they are wrong and we are right.  They are NOT just going to get along.  Yet, that is what we all want...  to get along... I don't know of anyone that WANTS to disagree, or wants to fight.  Yet, we do.   How can we achieve this harmony that we all so desperately want?  That is why this sweet angel has came!  She came to let us know that to achieve harmony, we must have compassion.  We may not agree with the person next door, or they may just plain be rude or unnerving.  This is where we need to look at this person, and see ourselves in this person.  See how we are like this person, and how this person is like us.  We need to remember a time, when perhaps we may have behaved as this person does, or when we would think like this person does.  Envision a situation that may cause us to think like this person thinks, or act like this person acts.  We must have compassion.  


Wikipedia defines compassion as a virtue in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others) are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism - foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and person-hood.  If only, we would take a moment to see how we are connected before we jumped to conclusions we might just be able to achieve harmony, if only for a little while.  


This angel has peacock feathers, most people think of peacocks as representing pride and virtue, however In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.  It is an emblem of love, compassion, and kind-heartedness.  The goldfish represents many things in the Chinese culture.  It represents, wealth, and it also represents the harmony of family.  In this painting it specifically represents the harmony of our global family.  This angel is called Compassion, and she travels with her pet goldfish Harmony, in order to show us that getting along is possible, if we just have a heart.

Monday, March 12, 2012

A Productive Weekend

This weekend I managed to paint 3 paintings!  One on Saturday when Ana was playing with a friend, and two on Monday (okay, not technically the weekend, but I am between jobs, so, I extended my weekend).  The First painting is a new concept, and the second and third paintings are re-dos of paintings I have already done, but wanted to improve on.


Peace Brings Prosperity

Peace brings Prosperity -  Everyone knows that an owl represents wisdom, but every now and then it represents prosperity.  Every one wishes prosperity for those that they love.  The best way to bring prosperity is to be at peace with who you are, and with what those around you are.   Be at peace, and know that we are all connected, and prosperity will follow.

Grace Grows Gratitude -  My friend Becky, whom I love very much fell in love with the original Grace Grows Gratitude Painting.  I wanted to donate this painting to the Vine Silent Auction, so I repainted this one, and will let Becky pick which one she likes best...  Hmmm...  I am really loving Grace, I may have to paint another one for myself.

Whisper in the Wind II -I simply wanted to do a close up on the original, because the bottles were so small in the original.
Grace Grows Gratitude II


Whistle in the Wind II

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Hope brings Healing

Hope Brings Healing

This is another angel that literally appeared on the canvas as I was filling the background.  I was sitting in my dining room listening to Wayne Dyer's "Change Your Thinking - Change Your Life" , when she just literally popped out of my canvas.  "Hope brings Healing" has been a theme that I have wanted to paint for some time, and when this angel came to fruition, I knew that she had to be Hope.  The Apple Blossom is a symbol of hope, so naturally I decided to pair Hope up with her flower.  That flower will one day grow to be an apple, and we all know what they say!  "An Apple a day keeps the doctor away!"  

We all have times of despair.  Whether it be sickness, rejection, or loss of a loved one. In situations like these we always have at least two options.  We can dwell on our misery, thus going into a deeper darker place, or we can hope for a better future, lifting ourselves out of our despair and bringing ourselves to a better place.  Healing our mind and even our bodies, and bringing joy and encouragement to others.

This Angel is Hope, and she has come to bring healing.