Tuesday, January 25, 2011

offering


This drawing isn't really pink, in fact it's a pencil sketch on a fairly large sheet of white watercolor paper which is too large to sit on the bed of my scanner so I did what I could to make it visible.

It's also not really about anything because, if I could write it down or tell it, what would be the point of the lines?

The flu came and went leaving me just a little lighter, or perhaps it's just that the days are noticeably getting longer.

With luck and time the image may turn into a painting but for now it is what it is and I hope you get the idea.

What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?
I think it is the hope of loving, 
or being loved.

I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey


to find its source, 
and how the moon wept

without her lover’s
 warm gaze.

We weep when light does not reach our hearts. 

We wither 
like fields if someone close

does not rain 
their
 kindness

upon 

us.
 


Meister Eckhardt

19 comments:

  1. That Echart can write a little bit. And you, my friend, know how to mix a metaphor. I love the flight of the tree and the stillness of the fairy. Beautiful.
    I am so happy you are feeling better.
    xoxo

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  2. I love the expressions on their faces. It is a beautiful scene, followed by the perfect poem.

    My husband has had the flu for nearly a week. What a rotten bug. I am sorry you were down with it and trust you know to take it easy while you build back strength.

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  3. While i would love to see this image painted, I think it is just great the way it is. I wonder if adding color, shading and such might not detract from the wonderful lines you have created.

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  4. Most certainly no need to 'explain' this drawing further.

    Oh, eh.

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  5. A lovely drawing just as it is! And I enjoyed the poem, thank you! Yes, the days are getting longer and I was thrilled to discover some signs of spring in my garden today.

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  6. belette - Oh he really does cut straight to the heart, doesn't he? I got partway through painting these figures in another setting and realized it didn't suit them. This is definitely better and I'm glad you like it.

    I hope you're okay too and that Tom is recovered.

    lydia - I'm hoping my painting can do justice to them but just in case, I thought I'd share it with my friends.

    My husband was far more ill than me but I'm glad to say he's feeling better every day. Thanks for the good wishes.

    mrmacrum - Destroying something lovely is always a worry for me since I'm not a truly accomplished painter. I'm glad you like it as it is but I will be painting soon and hope to show it finished someday.

    randal - Done and still a few hairs left on my head too.

    gfid - Sometimes there are no words but yours have touched my heart.

    marja-leena - I'm delighted you like it. I'm also very jealous of your snowdrops and crocuses.

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  7. Thank you for sharing yourself so generously with us. Your art is, as always, amazing.

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  8. It's a lovely image Susan. I love it

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  9. I'm glad you're feeling better and lighter. The drawing just set off a conversation with Sophie. We were coming up with backstories for the woman and the fairy.

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  10. i thought as i was reading, it was rumi but it was too modern for rumi...very beautiful as is this drawing...the tree's flowers remind me of Buddhist tankha paintings and this is going to be beautiful once you paint it...seems you have spring on your mind? and the little fairy is so precious!

    so sorry you have had the revenge as well...it is the indonecian revenge for whatever reason-seems apt to me. :) anyway, nice to be a bit lighter, if only for a day or two, right? forgive, i have had hands and feet full of stupid stuff and when i wasn't doing that, i was not want to be on my computer much....finally that's fixed, sheesh...... xoxox sweet dreams ♥

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  11. I do get the idea and I love it.

    So glad to hear that you and Numb are feeling better. We're experiencing the most brutal of winters, as I'm sure you know. But, as you said, the days are getting noticeably longer. Amen.

    Love,
    Gina

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  12. liberality - I just wish I could work faster so I'd have more to share.

    jams - Thanks.

    lisa - Oh to be a fly on the wall - I'd love to hear a couple of those stories.

    linda - The poem was one I remembered that seemed to suit the image. You're absolutely right about the flowers on the tree being related to Tibetan Buddhism. I have some marvelous books by Robert Beer that can provide some inspiration now and then.

    I'm glad to know you're feeling better and yes, it does seem apt. Nevertheless, we're not the ones causing trouble, are we?

    pagan sphinx - I'm sure you do and that makes me glad.

    We're much better but numb is slower to recover so our walks cover less territory in more time at the moment. Strangely, there's been little snow accumulation around here but there have been some very cold and windy days. may spring come soon for us all.

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  13. your drawing is magical. i love the way the lines flow.
    and what's wrong with pink anyway?
    i'm glad you are feeling better. and here we are, already almost in February. Spring will soon be here and you'll be able to peek out your door at the birds returning from their florida and caribbean holidays!

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  14. First of all, I'm glad you're feeling better. Sounds like you were knocked around pretty good by the bug. Just happy you are on the mend.
    The first thing I saw with this drawing is the tree floating in the air. In the movie Avatar, there were many beautiful trees such as this one. The movie was an environmental statement. Of course, the artists rendering in a movie is not what you might have been drawing, but I related to these trees because, like yours, they are quite beautiful.
    (Wow, that was a long sentence to say" I like it")
    You mention a need to explain, or something to that effect. I like to tell the story, what I was thinking, what prompted my thought process. It's not at all neccessary, I know, but I am a storyteller, (so I am told), so I explain. You choose not to. It never makes the image less than what it is, with or without explanation, it will just 'be'.
    Nice poetry at the end.
    I'm here in New Mexico enjoying the Hot Springs, I'll deal with Nova Scotia next Summer.

    Peace.

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  15. well, i came on over because i was going to anyway, as you've been rather quiet....but then, it published you had published when apparently you didn't publish...i have had that happen to me when i was doing absolutely no-thing-well practically, like just fixing an old post and REpublishing, yesterday that happened...

    anyway, hoping you are feeling better as is numb, not too numb in that cold canadian wind..... hope to see more of you one of these days, maybe in spring..have you noticed we all seem to be waiting for spring?? take care, my dearxxx

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  16. sera - I'm delighted you like it. Pink is fine - much better than grey on grey :-) and yes, spring will eventually get here too. I really would like to see spring flowers.

    spadoman - It was a rather bad flu but I really am better now, thanks. In Avatar there were whole floating islands which I liked a lot. There's a much older sci-fi book by Larry Niven called 'The Integral Trees' which were huge and free floating in an air world in space. I've come across the idea in a couple of other books and have always liked the idea.

    I'm glad you're having a wonderful time.

    linda - Sorry for the confusion :-) I've been trying to publish something new with a music file attached which is just not happening for me tonight. When things like that happen I wonder if I'm maybe not supposed to be doing what I'm trying.

    I'm better. He's better. It's not been too bad a winter for snow but it can get very cold and windy. Silly thing is I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to be doing.

    You take care too. I'll be by - xo

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  17. It's taken me a while to comment, but I love this picture and the pensive girl at the center of it. If the picture isn't about anything you can put into words, it definitely stirs something.

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  18. ben - I'm so glad to know you came by to see it. I'm holding off on painting until I'm sure I can do proper justice to the concept.

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