FOCUSING ON DRAWING A TREE!

I drew this tree in the Tenafly, NJ town park as our Artists' Circle group was working there in Sept. 2007.
There were many scenes to draw, but I decided to focus on a large beech tree. I drew the outline of the tree trunk and branches, but then never looked at the tree again.
I realized I couldn't focus on the tree and drawing the tree. So I concentrated on just looking at the paper as I worked. The pale beige pastel paper became the light areas of the tree. A single piece of dark brown pastel chalk was used for all the ridges of the bark. None of those ridges were actually on the real tree, but by focusing on the drawing, the tree was formed and actually looked like an oak tree. The pale blue was added to the center trunk, making it look a little further away.

"Your focus will emerge naturally out of your sense of who you are and why you are here, and it will most likely resonate with your God-given talents and interests." Thomas Kinkade

Balancing Act

This painting was done this August, 2007 from a photograph of the Catskill Creek in Freehold, N.Y.

When I saw the balancing rocks, I was amazed. How did they get that way? The rock emerging from the water had another rock perfectly placed on top of it! Perhaps the creek was higher at some time, causing this unusual arrangement.

I reflected on things happening in our lives: the death of a loved one, a change of a job, conflicts in relationships, etc., that cause us to be "out of balance."

The lesson of the rocks is to come back to our center, take deep breaths and regain our balancing point.

"To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out ot the nest." from Pema Chodron - When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for Difficult Times.

Meditate on these rocks when you may need them.