Extra-ordinary

"Tea Time 2" (A Commission) - mixed media on cradled wood panel, 24" x 18".  Sold.

It delights me when I receive a commission request.  Commissions are kind of an art trust-fall on the part of the collector - a pre-purchase of an as-yet-to-be-seen painting.  Whoa.  And it surprises me when the request is for a piece which reflects where my art was instead of where it is or where it seems to be going.

Yet as I spent time with this sweet girl over the last couple of weeks, I found myself delighting in the simplest of forms, the purest of muses and the ease with which she emerged.

"Mindfulness asks that we cherish our moment-by-moment experience, treating each Tuesday morning and Saturday night alike as extra-ordinary.  The challenge of awakening in day-to-day life is to treat both the holy and the mundane aspects of life as equally sacred." - The Dharma of the Princess Bride,  Ethan Nichtern.

Tea Time 2 (A Commission)

Nichtern's advice applies here. The pursuit of the next level of painting feels otherworldly, holy - just out of reach.  It is the creative version of living at the edge of your eyeballs.  There is a temptation to pursue it solely, intensely and fiercely.  A temptation to raise the bar with each effort.  But finding the sacred in what I already do well and easily is a sweet delight and an opportunity to  both create and refuel at the same time.

I am reminded of a meditation on eating a tangerine by buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh:  “Each time you look at a tangerine, you can see deeply into it. You can see everything in the universe in one tangerine. When you peel it and smell it, it’s wonderful. You can take your time eating a tangerine and be very happy.”​

​And so I will be communing with this avocado toast, dear reader.  I'd love to hear what breakfast food held the universe for you this morning. :)