Climb up on the roof and dance….....

…… Like this …..

Is a changeling of a poem by the 13C Persian Sufi, Rumi.

To hear the poem beautifully read by Tilda Swinton go to my Tumblr page HERE (go on….it might just light a candle) ((..and thanks to mycuriousteaparty for bringing it to my attention!))

The words “Like this.”  Ask us to watch and listen.  How easy it is to get caught up in long conversations, arguments, and debates, when all that is needed is a simple action….like this.

A small action is so much more valuable than endless words. Lighting the candle says so much more than explaining how to do it. Doing the housework is a candle, controlling your temper in a difficult situation is a candle, listening to your partner or friend is a candle - any act of generosity, patience, or kindness is a candle.

Rumi’s message is that the currency of love is not words but actions. If you love someone, act with that love. If someone you love is far away from you, express that love with the faith that it will reach him or her and it will find a way.

I have become bogged down with words, the words of others, the words and thoughts going around in my head. So much so I have become frozen, incapable of moving. What should I say? What should I do? 

Do nothing.....sit in silence... Like this

Shikantaza? .... Like this.

Don't think Turner need worry LOL ! It's harder than it looks, and believe me this was the best of yesterday's. Ho ho. More to come, bet you can't wait.

Ooops experiencing typo complications....if you can't read half of this please come back later !

Sharey share

Fellow artist and all round good friend, Chris Petty, who hangs out in the nether regions of Cornwall, has recently dipped his toe into silver jewellery making. A long established children's book illustrator, he is now wanting a change in direction. He sculpts the most beautiful figures and now also makes very delicate and pretty silver jewellery. My daughter has one of Chris' moon rings, which is a lovely understated piece. Check out his Etsy shop for a truly original Christmas present.  

I am now off up to the Norfolk coast to try out water colour painting and see if I can't find my mojo at the same time. 

Water colours are not really my forte, but I too need a change of direction and it might help.

See you when I get back.

Inspired

Ordinary days are dream like

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had become fascinated by light on water, so much so, I have been taking endless photos. The only trouble is they all look quite similar when they are loaded onto my laptop. The colours are very similar....a khaki green sea and brooding sky is usual. I'm wanting to inject more vibrancy into my paintings.

On my way through the boat yard, earlier in the year, I had been struck by the wonderful colours on the bottom of yachts. they were out of the water having a new coat of anti fowl applied or having their hulls scraped of barnacles. The colours were so vibrant and eye catching that I took a load of pics, stashed them away and forgot about them. It was only yesterday as I trailed through my photos that it struck me, that many of them looked like my seascapes, or waves crashing on the shore.....but in the most fantastic colourways. yup, I think I shall be using some of the colours below in my new project.

Waves rushing up the beach.

A well defined horizon.

  Light on the water.

The barnacles here resemble sea spray.

This one even looks like a finished painting ! beautiful.

Sunset !

Red sky at night with the waves rolling in....

......and with this one below, I started mucking about with 'paint' on the computer....a little definition and a few blobby beach huts and it's almost done.

'Ordinary days are dream like' .... The start of a blog post by John Tarrant, you can read it HERE

Today I woke up and did something I hadn't really given much thought, but it seemed the right thing to do. I just did it. Time will tell. I like that feeling of not having to think too hard about how the day might go, to just watch it happening. An interesting koan.

It is the Autumn equinox this week and the tides are the highest and lowest. One minute Brightlingsea is flooded and the next it is a muddy ditch. Figures scuttle about on the mud, hoping to find something that has long been underwater. Someone sits patiently in their marooned car, waiting for the ebb tide. Out of the sun, the wind feels chill, time to put the flip flops away for another year.

Secret Art Show Preview & QR codes

The Multiple Sclerosis Trust Secret Art Show opens for viewing on Friday 28th September with sales starting on Friday 5th October. If you click HERE you can glimpse a preview and get some more info on the sale. My painting is not on the preview, but if you check out the sale, I'm sure you will spot it.

I made a very exciting discovery yesterday ! The existence of QR codes. For those of you, like me, who are dinosaurs when it comes to anything techy, QR codes are like funky bar codes. You can easily create your own personal bar code, so that peeps with smart phones, can point the phone at the little square, zap the QR code and be instantly whisked away to your web site. This is such a neat idea. The code can easily be put on price tags or business cards to save having lengthy www. addresses. Sooooo here's mine:

Neat huh ?  If you would like to learn more click HERE

The possibilities are endless.....such fun !

Open Studio's

Not opening my studio this weekend, but my work can be seen at The Naze Tower, Walton on The Naze and at Sea Green Studio Brightlingsea.

Standstill

What a beautiful September day. We have been waiting all Summer for this and now it feels too late. The evenings don't hold the warmth and Autumn is only a spit away. Still .... warm enough to dip feet in the North sea after a long bike ride.  

Abi Cunliffe is holding an art performance, for want of a better phrase, this weekend at Brightlingsea. People are invited into a beach hut for 20 mins to contemplate the moment. If you would like to check out Abi's project, and can't read the info below, click on her name above.
I was thinking about what I might contemplate for half an hour, when the light on the water became an obvious choice.

It was mesmerising and may well be the subject of a series of paintings.

Be There or Be Square