what is 'normal' anyway?

watercolor, pen and ink

If you always try to be normal, 

You will never know how amazing you can be.

-Maya Angelo

it makes a difference...

watercolor, pen and ink

The difference between 

misery and happiness 

depends on what we do 

with our attention.

-Sharon Salzburg

misunderstood...

watercolor, pen and ink

Perhaps one did not want to be loved

so much as to be understood.

- George Orwell

 

Festina lente

watercolor and ink

Hasten slowly.
~Augustus 

Sharing at paintpartyfriday 

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood...

watercolor and ink

While shepherds watched

their flocks by night

All seated on the ground

The angel of the Lord came down,

and glory shone around

"Fear not!" said he for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled minds

"Glad tiding of great joy I bring

To you and all mankind..."

~Andrew Peterson, Behold the Lamb of God

Merry Christmas!

sharing at PPF

little is big

watercolor and ink

Sharing at PPF and APR

Balance in Life Together

watercolor

“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community... 

Let him who is not in community beware of being alone... 

Each by itself has profound perils and pitfalls. 

One who wants fellowship without solitude 

plunges into the void of words and feelings, 

and the one who seeks solitude without fellowship

perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation and despair.”

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

sharing at APR: resolution
and MoM

wild kingdom

watercolor and ink

“A thing may be too sad to be believed 

or too wicked to be believed

 or too good to be believed; 

but it cannot be 

too absurd 

to be believed 

in this planet
of frogs 

and elephants, 

of crocodiles 

and cuttle-fish.” 

― G.K. Chesterton

hop on over and see

what is in their backyards (APR)

and on their easels (PPF)
and who's being FEATURED

for someone to pause long enough...

 watercolor and acrylic ink

"I began to have a strong sense, 

among all these hurrying people... 

of being utterly alone, aloof.

It was as though I were wearing a magic cloak of invisibility, 

for it seemed 

that I could see all these passing people 

without their seeing me.

They went by 

as though I were not there at all...

and yet I felt that I was well worth knowing; 

if only someone would stop long enough to know me!"

~David Grayson, Adventures in Understanding

sharing at 

APR: favorite color(s)

and

PPF

Alexander the Beetle

watercolor and ink

Forgiven 

I found a little beetle; so that Beetle was his name,
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
I put him in a match-box, and I kept him all the day ...
And Nanny let my beetle out -
Yes, Nanny let my beetle out -
She went and let my beetle out -
And Beetle ran away.

She said she didn't mean it, and I never said she did,
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid,
She said that she was sorry, but it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you've mistaken for a match.

She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn't mind,
As there's lots and lots of beetles which she's certain we could find,
If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid -
And we'd get another match-box and write BEETLE on the lid.

We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
"A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!"

It was Alexander Beetle I'm as certain as can be,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it must be Me,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought he ought to say:
"I'm very very sorry that I tried to run away."

And Nanny's very sorry too for you-know-what-she-did,
And she's writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid,
So Nan and Me are friends, because it's difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you've mistaken for a match.

~A.A. Milne

Sharing at PPF

portrait of a coffee loving artist

 watercolor and ink

“Fueled by [her] inspiration, 

[Jenn] ran across the room to steal the cup of 

[hazelnut] coffee 

the bookshelf had taken prisoner. 

Lapping the [creamy nutty] brew like a hyena, 

[she] tossed the empty cup aside

[deeply relieved that there were 3 more cups waiting]. 

[She] then returned to the chair to continue 

[her] divine act of creation. 

Hot blood swished in [her] head 

as [her] mighty [brush] stole across the [canvas].” 

― adapted from a quote by Roman Payne

for Jenn

to make her laugh

sharing at APR

a happily-ever-after pair

watercolor and ink

“And they lived happily 

(aside from a few normal 

disagreements, 

misunderstandings, 

pouts, 

silent treatments, 

and unexpected calamities) 

ever after.” 

― Jean Ferris, Twice Upon a Marigold

sharing at APR:pears

introspection

  watercolor, pen and ink

"I have had more trouble with myself 
than with any other man I have ever met."  
~Dwight Lyman Moody

  

"Some days I wake up Grumpy,

other days I let him sleep in!"

~ Karisma

Sharing at APR: red and white  

read!

 watercolor and ink bookmark

“The man who does not read 

has no advantage over 

the man who cannot read.”  

~ Mark Twain 

sharing at APR

The King's Return

watercolor

The King beneath the mountains,

The King of carven stone,

The lord of silver fountains

Shall come into his own!

His crown shall be upholden,

His harp shall be restrung,

His halls shall echo golden

To songs of yore re-sung.

The woods shall wave on mountains

And grass beneath the sun;

His wealth shall flow in fountains

And the rivers golden run.

The streams shall run in gladness,

The lakes shall shine and burn,

All sorrow fail and sadness

At the Mountain-king’s return!

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

old-fashioned

watercolor and ink

“They say I'm old-fashioned, 

and live in the past, 

but sometimes I think progress 

progresses too fast!” 
― Dr. Seuss

galumphing frabjously

mixed media

He took his vorpal sword in hand; 

...

One, two! One, two! And through and through 
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 
He left it dead, and with its head 
He went galumphing back. 
...
O frabjous day[s]! Callooh! Callay!" 

― Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky

For Artist's Playroom#3

sound core

Watercolor and ink

"The more slowly trees grow first, the sounder they are at the core, 

and I think the same is true for human beings." 

Henry David Thoreau 

settling down

watercolor and ink
Above all shadows rides the Sun...
~J.R.R. Tolkien
Journey's End

two friends sharing

watercolor and ink

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, 

we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, 

have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. 

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, 

who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, 

who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing 

and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, 

that is a friend who cares.” 

~Henry J.M. Nouwen

The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey