Sunday, February 24, 2019

Putting it All Together

  
Putting it All Together



































 

“Evolving, our brains are evolving”.  That’s why we’re here: to see how far this experiment called life can go. Consciousness is the vehicle that allows us to evolve (or devolve, heaven forbid).   This I read in a blog by Olivier Bessaignet.  He stated it more eloquently, and he likewise references Thomas Campbell in this line of thought.

Three friends from Paris died this week:  Patricia, who gave completely wild, crazy dinner parties with guest speakers (I met some very good friends there); Sharon, who lived in Pigalle, and embraced the spontaneity of that naughty neighborhood; and Atlas, a Jack Russell terrier who was a big part of our Luxembourg Garden life.   Did their brains evolve?  I know Atlas’s did – his auntie used to bring him dog development toys.  He managed to get most everything he wanted from life:  a warm bed, food (never enough) and most importantly LOVE.  I think the other two friends evolved as well, but I think both of them might have wanted more love.   But they certainly gave love:  Patricia’s get-togethers connected people who would have never otherwise met.  And it was at one of Sharon’s dinners that I met Richard, who is such a good friend. 

It makes me feel even better about our dinner for 10 this afternoon.  I am cooking up a storm, starting with scallop and hot sausage risotto, followed by pheasants, and for dessert Blair is making a gluten-free clementine cake.   Cooking is an activity like meditation for me.  I focus on my work and I travel to the end of the universe in thought.  Painting works pretty much the same, but somehow I got this bend on selling paintings and it totally interferes with the activity. 





It seems every activity, every event, has to be made into a money-maker these days. Of course, we need money to live, but how much must we focus on it?   A good friend just sent me a “sleep” link.  I didn’t sleep last night, and I don’t sleep probably once a week.  Well, this program hypnotizes the listener (I am not making this up) to go to sleep and wake up early the next day ready to MAKE MONEY!   What ever happened to “now I lay me down to sleep?”  I actually pray at night that the universe sends me answers to my questions while I sleep.  Sometimes I wake up with BRILLIANT ideas, which often show their true colors by lunchtime.

I don’t have any real answers.  I am trying to put it all together, like the paintings we have been doing over the last three weeks.   Thirty-six images (12x12”; 30x30cm) all fit together to create the landscape from our Stimigliano bedroom balcony.    We took a photo, cut it up into squares, and painted from each little image.

Sound like fun?  Maybe we should do it together.  If you would like to paint a square of a mystery image, I’ll send it to you via email and we can put them all together in a mosaic.  Any photographable 2D medium would be accepted.  Come on, all you painting workshop alumni!



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