Feeling Blue.....Heron.

This week, I chose to paint a Blue Heron.

I wasn’t actually thinking about a specific individual to send the envelope to this week while doing this one, but was enamoured by the majesty and beauty of this type of a bird.  There is so much to marvel in the nature around us..

Done in Gouache and a little pen and ink.

Sympathy

Recently, I was informed that a good friend tragically lost his 19 year old daughter.  While watching  the video montage of a lifetime of pictures of this individual, I was moved at what a beautiful person she is, and also felt such sadness for her parents who now are trying to determine how to move forward, to find hope and healing. I'm always at a loss as to what to say, or what to do.  You want so desperately to take away their pain, or to say something meaningful;something that would supply succor and encouragement, while at the same time you don't want to pry or be audacious enough to think that you are capable of reducing the pain.   So, I do what I can...I paint.  Their beautiful daughter loved insects, particularly spiders and tarantulas, with the hopes of becoming an entomologist.  So, while a tarantula is not normally an image that one expects on an an envelope containing a sympathy card, this is what I am sending to them with a few thoughts, and condolences.

Done completely in gouache.

Fear

These past few months I have been dealing with some circumstances in my life which have forced me to face things that bring fear, uncertainty, even panic.  In many ways I feel like the turtle that I painted this weekend.  We can often only see all of the things that potentially could go wrong, and favor shrinking into our shell, where we feel safe, unexposed, warm.  Yet, if we live inside of the shell all of the time, we miss the ability to move forward, even if slowly.  While I painted this, I kept thinking of a great quote that I heard the other day penned by Rudyard Kipling.  He said: "Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears."

Generally, I paint envelopes for others.  I guess this one was an envelope to self.

The other thing I learned while painting this is the fact that turtle legs look amazingly like two giant pine cones.

This is done entirely in Gouache.