30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 13

​[Scene: Florin Market. Humperdinck addresses the crowd from the balcony]
Grandfather :"The king died that very night, and before the following dawn, Buttercup and Humperdinck were married. And at noon she met her subjects again, this time as their queen."
Humperdinck: My father's final words were:---
Grandson: Hold it, hold it, Grandpa. Y-you read that wrong. She doesn't marry Humperdinck, she married Westley. I'm just sure of it. After all that Westley did for her, if she didn't marry him, it wouldn't be fair.
Grandfather:Well, who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair.
Grandson: I'm telling you, you're messing up the story, now get it right!
Grandfather: Do you want me to go on with this?
Grandson: Yes.
         from The Princess Bride

"Diving Into the Fire Swamp" - watercolor on paper, 20" x 22".  Ready to frame.  Available at Artfinder.
​

Life isn't always fair.

And life is messy.

Just when we think we've got it all figured out, we're on the right path, our ducks are in a row, the planets are in alignment...then ZING! POW! WHAP!  A monkey wrench flies into the whole thing and you skid to a STOP.  And like the grandson in this scene, we are thinking the story is messed up, this isn't how it is supposed to be and so on.

But...and this is a BIG BUT (one "T", you silly reader, not two!), how many times have those monkey wrenches turned into the yellow brick road leading you to something better?  I have a theory.  If you follow the wrench episodes far enough, at some point there is a silver lining, a golden nugget, a kernel of truth.  Or an even better outcome than you previously imagined. Sometimes, when I am stuck in traffic that is making me swear a blue streak and point at people and wag my finger furiously (and oh yes, I point at people. I am one of those annoying drivers), I tell myself a story about how the universe conspired to throw this traffic in my way to save me from certain peril five miles ahead, delaying my arrival until after the [insert calamity here  - accident, space ship landing, terrorist bomb, flock of chickens in the road] has passed.  And I'll tell you something - as soon as I think that, I feel better about the messy unfairness of the moment (and traffic) I seem to be stuck in.  Our imaginations have that kind of power!

Above is the final first piece started in last week's workshop.  I absolutely LOVE how this is pure watercolor, yet looks like mixed media and collage!  The process takes time and patience, but the result - wow.  I will keep working on the second piece and see if it is just as magical.