TRAVELER'S REFLECTIONS

 

"Once I traveled about in an old bakery wagon, double-doored rattler with a mattress on the floor,

I stopped where people stopped or gathered, I listened and looked and felt, and in the process had a

picture of my country the accuracy of which was impaired only by my own shortcomings." 

 John Steinbeck,

 

 

CHAPTER I: Grow  

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way–things I had no words for."

-- Georgia O’Keeffe

 

Hunting for good art is an exciting journey, one that is often woven throughout a lifetime. We discover it everywhere: while meandering through a touristy vacation pebbled walkway; while perusing galleries or attending an outdoor art show; and while shopping at antique auctions and used resale shops. The venture is endless in nature, and entertaining to find that just right piece that expresses something personal in

design, colors and shapes. We seem to seek

          the same satisfaction with buying and decorating in the arts.

 

 

"I know the LORD is always with me.

I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."

Psalm 16:8 (NLT)

 

Today, I'm going to the mountain for inspiration on this morning of sunshine and clear blue skies, and see what evolves.

My sketch pad and transportable watercolor paints are in my knapsack, and a spirit of exploration awaits me.

 

 

 

 

 
 

"Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping… waiting… and though unwanted… unbidden… it will stir… open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us… guides us… passion rules us all, and we obey. …. without passion maybe we’d know some kind of peace… but we would be hollow… Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead."

-- Joss Whedon

When walking into a friend’s home, what do you sense?

It seems a home comes to life and gives an inner inkling to a person's passions. A home with art and interesting accessories often demonstrates the visual heart of passion of the dweller, and presents an ambience of personal preferences. 

 

 

 

 

Blue Flower

British Virgin Islands (BVI)

The vibrantcy of color explodes throughout the Islands. Flowers are intense in color and shape in the harbor and beach areas

 

"Whether the flower or the color is the focus I do not know.

I do know the flower is painted large to convey my experience with the flower – and what is my experience if it is not the color?"

-- Georgia O'Keeffe

 

Color captivates, expressing joy, peace, love, lust, anger, zest, danger, life, death, and endless emotions. When combining colors, another set of emotions can attract our attention.

 Colors can actually have an affect on a person's state of mind and cognitive ability as demonstrated by numerous research studies. Further studies indicate that approximately 85% of a consumer’s product choice is based on its color.

 

 

 

 

Cottage Row Geranium

Fish Creek -Door County, WI

This floral settings was Inspired by the ambling

 cottage homes in the Door County Pennisula.

Floral greetings are at entrances and pathways.

 

"Don't wish me happiness
I don't expect to be happy all the time...
It's gotton beyond that somehow.
Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor.
I will need them all."
― Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a welcoming synergy that draws families to ocean beach destinations, beckoning reconnection, restoration,

and fun in the ambience of sand and water for a true getaway. Connecting to these locations embraces one to decompress in serenity. Ocean-inspired renewal, is bathed in soft hues of aquas, blues and shoreline sands add to the overall sensory experience. There is nothing like genuine renewal in these seaside locations, with the timelessness of the oceans' shore, and a good book that speaks like a friend.

 

Golden Sunrise

Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Island

By mid-morning in Virgin Gorda, the sun worshippers

have settled down on one of the many deserted

 beaches that fringe the island: Savannah Bay,

Handsome Bay, or Big Trunk Bay.

 

"A snowflake is one of God’s most fragile creations,

but look what they can do when they stick together!"
~Author Unknown

 

 

Soft snow everywhere this morning.

A distant sun trying to find it's way through the foglit clouds.

Seems to me a reflective time on this new day.

 


 

Grandmother's Pond

Northern, WI

Memories of ice skating and outdoor times with family at this frozen river shoreline

 

　

The antidote to frustration is a calm faith, not in your own
cleverness, or in hard toil, but in God's guidance.                               
- Norman Vincent Peale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 

                                        

Cottage Row Pansie

Fish Creek -Door County, WI

This charming arrangement, at the end of a driveway,

was a welcoming note to Fish Creek. narrow peninsula

 - only 75 miles long and 10 miles wide.

                                  

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can
be done without hope and confidence.
- Helen Keller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piano & Lilies

Fish Creek, WI

The charm of a Bed & Breakfast is embraced

while light music and scents from

newly picked flowers invite a view to treasure

 

 Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is
still dark.
- Rabindranath Tagore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherries & Floral

Carmel, CA

Storybook cottages, fruit trees, blooms of many variety,

 welcome visitors to this oceanside quaint village.

At every turn, there are "little stories" as

one strolls down the curious pathways

No matter how steep the mountain - the Lord is going to climb
it with you.
- Helen Steiner Rice 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist's Cottage

  Where hope grows, miracles blossom.
- Elna Rae

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Cottage

Author of Peter Rabbit,

Beatrice Potter's Cottage,Cumbria, UK

is a time capsule where she wrote

many of her famous books.   

When God calls you to do something, he enables you to do it.
- - Robert Schuller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Cottage Floral

Fish Creek -Door County, WI

Cottages are tucked away from the main road,

facing the awe-inspiring sunsets of the Pennisula.

 


  CHAPTER 2: Seek

 

The word "philosophy" comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia),

which literally means "love of wisdom".

The antidote to frustration is a calm faith, not in your own
cleverness, or in hard toil, but in God's guidance.
- Norman Vincent Peale

 

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can
be done without hope and confidence.
- Helen Keller

 

Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is
still dark.
- Rabindranath Tagore

 

No matter how steep the mountain - the Lord is going to climb
it with you.
- Helen Steiner Rice

 

Where hope grows, miracles blossom.
- Elna Rae

 

When God calls you to do something, he enables you to do it.
- - Robert Schuller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 



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Faith is the light that guides you through the darkness. 

 CHAPTER 2: Seek