Getting Lost in the Magic

“Spirits in the Sky” 36×48″ Oil on Canvas

The photos are only a starting  point. Somewhere in the process of  painting I  get lost  in the piece. Accuracy is not important  to me. I am  striving to evoke an emotion. The  positive and negative space in this  painting are  treated with equal importance. A dance began to  take  place between the clouds (the positive  space) and the sky (the negative  space).

As Joni Mitchell once wrote:

“Bows and rows of angel hair, And ice cream castles in the air, And  feathered canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way.”

I hope that the next time you see the sky full of cumulus clouds, you will pause long enough to see what you once may have seen as a child. It is a little bit of magic.

The Paradise of my Mind

My best work comes when my mind is at peace.

Life does “get in the way” and like most

Of us I become ensnared by the challenges and noise of our fast paced world.

There are times when weeks go by and I have found myself far from the mental stillness I often enjoy.

I must put in the effort and use the coping skills I have developed to return to the Paradise of my Mind.

I have my “quiet time” early each morning, which is a time of stillness, meditation and prayer.

I will exercise more and walk on lonely beaches.

If necessary I will consult a friend.

I might attend church a few times a week during these periods of unrest.

We all know what works best for each of us individually.

Finally I return to the Paradise on my Mind.

It is then the brush flows. I am “divinely inspired” and the peacefulness of my mind is communicated on the canvas.

It is magic.

New Year “Resolutions”

Resolutions

A Christmas come and gone once more…

Another year of one’s own lore,

To contemplate and create anew…

The coming year’s resolves, a few.

To write upon the weary pages,

Of one’s own heart, alive yet faded.

Resolutions made and lost,

Triumphs yes, disappointments, cost.

To look at one’s own life and see

The need to change, to grow to be

A kinder, patient, more loving soul,

Rekindle hope in one’s own role,

As giver to the one’s we love,

A calming presence, a peaceful dove.

So far from this I clearly see,

The many flaws that make up me.

Yet hope I choose to hold on to,

The belief in Change Within, Renew.

For in one’s change within, alone,

Lies the key to the difference shown…

In every smile and happy face,

The difference from despair, to grace.

copyright 2010 Margaret Biggs