say whaaaaat???

Daniel Smith Watercolor on Fabriano paper

The only thing that should surprise us 

is that there are still some things that can surprise us.

~Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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family portrait

We all grow up with the weight of history on us. 

Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains 

as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge 

hidden in every cell of our bodies. 

~Shirley Abbott

watercolor

for Dr. Fostenia Baker

a remarkable lady and friend

“Call it a clan, 

call it a network,

 call it a tribe,

 call it a family: 

Whatever you call it, 

whoever you are, 

you need one.”

– Jane Howard

Read this family's story
See the documentary featuring Dr. Fostenia Baker




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Nature's Affirmation #4: Deep Wrinkles

varnished watercolor on aquabord

"Wrinkles only go where smiles have been."
-Jimmy Buffet

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Nature's Affirmation #3: Bad Hair Day

varnished watercolor on aquabord

"You can't control everything.
Your hair was put on your head to remind you of that!"
-anonymous

And I will add that hurricanes will remind you of the same!
We were spared great damage,
but many of our neighbors were less fortunate...

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Affirmation #2: Fine Lines

varnished watercolor on aquabord

When we hold a photo negative up to the light 

all objects are reversed. 

Black is white, 

white is black. 

Moreover, the character lines of any face in the picture are not clear.

Once placed into the developing solution, 

what photographers call
 "the latent image" 
is revealed in the print -

darkness is turned to light; 

and, lo, 

we have a beautiful picture.

-Catherine Marshall

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Nature's Affirmation #1: Baggy Eyes

varnished watercolor on aquabord

"Those bags under me eyes...?
 Well they just happen to be
 Designer bags."
-anonymous

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voice of silence

watercolor

"When they are 

silent

they 

cry out."

-Cicero

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turning

watercolor on aquaboard

“It is to be broken. 
It is to be torn open.
It is not to be reached 
and come to rest in

ever.
 I turn against you,

I break from you, 
I turn to you.

We hurt,
 and are hurt,

and have each other for healing.

It is healing.
 It is never whole.” 

― Wendell Berry, The Collected Poems, 1957-1982

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how little it takes

                                           

                                                           watercolor on aquaboard

                                       “Again I resume the long

                                        lesson: how small a thing

                                         can be pleasing, how little

                                         in this hard world it takes

                                          to satisfy the mind

                                            and bring it to its rest.”

                                                   ― Wendell Berry, Sabbaths

                                                     Sharing at PaintPartyFriday

the grace of another day

watercolor on aquaboard

“Life is grace. 

Sleep is forgiveness.

 The night absolves. 

Darkness wipes the slate clean,

 not spotless to be sure,

but clean enough

 for another day's chalking.” 

― Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace

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redemption

“Is everything sad going to come untrue?”
– Sam Gamgee to Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings

“Everything sad is going to come untrue 

and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost.

– Tim Keller, The Reason for God

fathomless mystery

watercolor on aquaboard

“Listen to your life.

 See it for the fathomless mystery it is.

 In the boredom and pain of it, 

no less than in the excitement and gladness: 

touch, taste, smell 

your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, 

because in the last analysis

 all moments are key moments, 

and life itself is grace.” 

― Frederick Buechner, Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation

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through the shadows

watercolor

“You can only come to the morning through the shadows.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien

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follow

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

watercolor

“Don't go where I can't follow!” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

looking...

watercolor

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. 
You certainly usually find something,
 if you look, 
but it is not always quite the something you were after.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

broken whole

“...if you could make a beautiful piece of art 
from discarded newspapers 
and old matchbooks, 
[and shattered smartphone screens]

then it meant that 
everything 
had 
potential. 

And maybe people were like collages-
no matter how 
broken 

or 
useless 
we felt, 

we were 

an 

essential 
part 
of 
the 
whole.
We mattered.”
― Heather Demetrios, I'll Meet You There 

collage

repurposed smartphone pieces on wood panel

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Portrait of a Lady Study#2

 watercolor

widow of Frazier Baker
mother of six

"Fervently the silent prayer ascended,
 that the night of sorrow might pass, 
and the storm of agony be stilled in her bosom..."
...

J.L. Boswell. 1838, The Star in the East  

from 

Supplement to the Connecticut Courant:

 Containing Tales, Travels, History, Biography, Poetry, and a Great Variety of Miscellaneous Articles, Volume 5

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Portrait of a Lady Study#1

watercolor

Lavinia Baker

widow of Frazier Baker

 “...this woman, 

moved by some private sorrow as much as the words being spoken, 

cried almost silently, 

unobserved by others, 

apart from Mma Ramotswe, 

who stretched out her hand and laid it on her shoulder.

 Do not cry, Mma,

 she began to whisper, 

but changed her words even as she uttered them,

 and said quietly, 

Yes, you can cry, Mma. 

We should not tell people not to weep - 

we do it because of our sympathy for them - 

but we should really tell them 

that their tears 

are justified 

and entirely right.” 

― Alexander McCall Smith, Double Comfort Safari Club

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behind the eyes...

between what was and

what is to come lies the vast

uncertain unknown

~Mx

 watercolor

And with compassion for the hurting, 

You reached out Your hand,

You saw behind the eyes of sorrow 

And shared in our tears, 

Heard the sigh of the weary, 

Let the children draw near.    

~Keith&Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend

Compassion Hymn

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who?

watercolor

re-post from way back when

"Who in the world am I? 

Ah, that's the great puzzle." 
— Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

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Self-portrait/Birthday Celebration