August 28, 2011

Summer

8 x 10. oil on canvas
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate,
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date..."
William Shakespeare

August 18, 2011

three sheets t' th' wind

9 x 12, oil on canvas
"Three sheets" be 'n an ol' seafarin' term referrin' t' th' ropes holdin' th' bottom of th' sails in place. If nay securely fastened, th' sails were likely t' thrash about like a drunken sailor - thus th' phrase came known t' be a measure o' the sailor's seaworthiness! Betcha thought sheets referred to th' sails instead a th' ropes? Nay, 'tis an educational blog we're runnin' here matey!

And since three be me favorite number o' th' day; here be nay one, nay two, but three birthday quotes fer ye ponderin' sort a sailor...
~ ~ ~
"Youth be th' gift o' nature, but age be th' work o' art"... Scallywag Garson Kanin

"Knowledge be speakin', but wisdom be listenin"... Matey Jimi Hendrix

"At twenty years o' age, th' will reigns;
at thirty, th' wit;
an' at forty, th' judgement"
...Cap'n Ben Franklin

(Yo, ho, ho...an' a bottle o' rum!)

August 5, 2011

sea of inspiration

12 x 12, oil on canvas
When asked what is the driving force behind his creativity, Sir Paul McCartney responded:

"It's simple -- I really enjoy what I do.
I have quite a few passions, as you might have noticed.
It really is just when I have a minute and when a particular passion hits me.
I love to paint.
I love to write poetry.
I love to make music.
So it's not really hard work for me,
and if I have a strong urge for something,
then I just go and do it."

~What I love most about Sir Paul is that he embraces life with such gratitude, humility, grace, joy, humor and insight. He is worth an estimated $750 million, could live anywhere/buy anything; and yet - he chose to go on the road and share his music with 1.2 million of his "closest" friends this summer. He doesn't call it work because he loves what he does. He has learned to just be. BE, as in, be open to innovative ideas, be in alignment with what he is most passionate about. He says it's just that simple.
May we be as a sailboat gently floating on the sea, ever ready to hoist our own sails. And may Sir Paul's timeless words and music continue to illuminate the world, inspiring all to "just go and do" our part to spread the light~

August 1, 2011

a day well spent

12 x 16, oil on canvas
"Twenty years from now
you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the things you did,
so throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore.
Dream.
Discover."
Mark Twain