"The Gift"

"Happy"

18" x 18" on museum quality panel, framed

$1400

"When we fall in love, what we fall in love with, is the way that person makes us feel about ourselves when we are with them." 

I overheard this statement many years ago and have never forgotten it.  The reason?  Because I felt its truth then and have personally found it to be true in the time that has since passed from when I first heard it. 

I have been in the presence of many people since then.  Sometimes I have left, feeling somewhat akin to a rat --no count, lazy, stupid, slacker, wanna be, ugly, old, dumb.  But then, there are those spirits, those people, that in their presence I felt like the cat's pajamas.  I felt smart, witty, attractive, engaging, worthwhile, capable, and ...well....LOVED!  And this came from people that I had sometimes just met all the way to those who have known me many years.  They just had that intense sparkle in their eyes, they "heard" me!  They didn't have to spend hours with me or give me gifts. 

What they did, knowingly or unknowingly, was give the best of themselves to me--they saw me through the eyes of love and thus allowed me to see myself that way.  And I left their presence walking taller, feeling like I could do the things I dreamed of. 

With one year ending and another beginning, thanks to each of you who have made me feel "taller" while  in your presence this year. 

You have given the best gift of all.  The gift of making another feel good about themselves.  And that is the  gift of love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S.  My girl is home this week with me, so if I am a bit absent online, please know I am very present with my daughter and making the most of each precious minute.  If there are any blog posts mentioning a "tuna drive" you will know it's Eddie behind it and not me......

Note:  The painting Happy is one of those available from the Let There Be Love... Collection.  From now until December 31, 2010, paintings from this collection are available with free shipping in the continental US and come with an autographed copy of the book of that name.  Flex pay is available as well, spreading the amount into 3 pays over 3 months, so that you can acquire the art you wish for your collection.  To see the entire collection you can click here.

Reproductions of this collection are available to purchase by clicking here. Pin It

"Peace"

"Peace"

20" x 24" oil on museum quality panel, framed

$1865

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see.

                                                                                                         ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Reproductions of this painting and (others in this collection) are available to purchase by simply clicking here . 

I have truly loved sharing these pieces, one by one, from the original body of work called "Let There Be Love...". Like all the paintings shown before,  "Peace" also has words of Joy, Hope, and Love scripted in gold on the surface of the painting.


Several of the paintings are available for purchase and you can see them by clicking here. From now until December 31, 2010 these paintings come with free shipping and an autographed copy of the book, "Let There Be Love...". For those local to my area that don't require shipping, the estimated shipping cost will be deducted from the piece. I am offering flex pay (3 payments spread out of 3 months) to ensure you get the painting you desire..:))

Also, I did a talk about this body of work --to go to page with video, click here. Pin It

"Tranquility"

"Tranquility"

18 x 18in oil on museum quality panel

$1400

Someone asked me recently why most all of my paintings rarely have people in them.  Food for thought.  I am guilty as charged for sure.  Even when out photographing, I find myself waiting for the nano second when a place empties itself of personalities (like the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, location of the painting Quiet).  And if they are there in my photo (as in Venice, a Love Shared) I will leave them out.  This habit of mine goes way back and the question posed is not new to me. However, the title to the above painting led me on a search which led to my aha moment!

Detail of Chair...EMPTY chair...:))

  I love painting places that allow one to wander in,

Love and Tranquility among the roses....

alone, to provide a respite from the "sustained direct attention" that characterises our lives!  A place from which to reflect. 

And that, in effect, is why I LOVE  to paint....and LOVE places that allow the imagination to wander. 
Simply and most wonderfully for  the tranquility it brings.

You are welcome to sit in the chair above and if anyone tries to bother you.....I will paint them out..:)))
Note: This painting is from the series of pieces I did for "Let There Be Love....". Several of the paintings are available for purchase and you can see the entire collection by clicking here. From now until December 31, 2010 these paintings come with free shipping and an autographed copy of the book, "Let There Be Love...". For those local to my area that don't require shipping, the estimated shipping cost will be deducted from the piece. I am also offering flex pay (3 payments spread out of 3 months) to ensure you get the painting you desire..:))
Also, I did a talk about this body of work --to go to page with video, click here.

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"Complete"

"Complete"

18 x 18in oil on museum quality panel, framed

$1400

I once read a commentary on the painter Degas that said, "He had a great talent for discovering beauty."  Not creating beauty, or reproducing it, but discovering it.  That was the first time I realized that an artist's real contribution isn't what he paints, but the way he sees.
                                                                                                                                ~Martha Beck

Love is there when you look for it.....

As is Joy

and Peace

It is what all of us have to contribute --  it isn't what we do that matters so much, it is the way we see that reveals the beauty that exists all around us.  Life always rewards the choice to look for beauty, peace, joy and love.  Always.

And that is what makes us
                                                                               Complete

Note: This painting is from the series of pieces I did for "Let There Be Love....". Several of the paintings are available for purchase and you can see the entire collection by clicking here. From now until December 31, 2010 these paintings come with free shipping and an autographed copy of the book, "Let There Be Love...". For those local to my area that don't require shipping, the estimated shipping cost will be deducted from the piece. I am also offering flex pay (3 payments spread out of 3 months) to ensure you get the painting you desire..:))

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"Harmony" SOLD

"Harmony"

12 x 12 on museum quality panel, framed
From the Let There Be Love... Collection

$760

Tonight I set my clock back one hour,  which got me to thinking.

  

 What is time?  Measured off.  Does it have anything, really, to do with Life? 

 We mark it so carefully.  Be mindful of this .  Careful of that. 

 It seems to me the most beautiful, eloquent of paintings, words, songs, music, magical quiet times, arise out of no time. 

We "lose track". 

We cannot measure the immeasurable. 

What are the last moments spent with a loved one--is there a measure for that? 

 The time it takes to run you hand down the length of a cat from its head to its tip of a tale...is there a measure for that? 

The brilliance of sun on white foamy beach waves while rising

....our measurements seem foolish, pointless. 

We best measure our life by these moments. 

Not by calendars and clocks, minutes and hours. 

What is a life but immeasurable moments of beauty that take our breath away---back to back. 

And the final breath it takes, carries us to the beyond bliss that is only hinted at

for now.

Gratitude Mission, Day 6: Say thanks for (or put some) fun in the mail

#30Thanks  Day 6:  Who most recently sent you something fun in the mail? 

Getting something in the mail other than "junk" and not a bill....well, that does make for a red letter day!  I have had so many beautiful, hand written notes in the past months-- Linda Phillips, Colleen Murphy, Terri Thompson, Sandy Slade, Bill Brison, and the list goes on.  And it means so much.  I keep them in a box in my studio for safe-keeping!  My most recent came from  a cat named Coco and was addressed to Eddie, but it was composed and mailed by my amazing friend, Lynda Gregory.  And it is not the first silly thing I have had from Lynda that makes me laugh.  Thank you Lynda for thinking of me (and Eddie) and bringing some smiles to us..:))  And thanks to Coco.

Coco the Cat with Winnie and Gumbert

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"Derby Time"

Living in central Kentucky, one quickly comes to realize....Derby madness is alive and well. I live in the heart of horse country, surrounded by some of the most beautiful farms imaginable. Barns nicer than many homes. Horses that earn their owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day from stud fees.

Do I ride horses or know anything about them?

No.

Other people have animals that make them money.

I, on the other hand, have Eddie.

The closest I get to anything horsey would be painting silver shiny things (does that count??) So it seemed fitting in this moment of horse mania that is the Kentucky Derby, to showcase the painting "Truth", which sports the famous mint julep cup. That's as close to a horse painting you are likely to see coming from me...:)

This painting is quite large (24 x 30) compared to my blog paintings. It is loosely painted, but looks "tighter" when shrunken down to photo size--one of the things that happens online and in magazines to larger works. If you would like to see a little larger version, click here.

Happy Derby Day!

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"Afternoon with the Artist...(that's me...:)"

This was such a special day for me. Gallery B (pictured below) hosted "Afternoon with the Artist" which gave me the opportunity to spend time with some of my collectors and share some behind the scenes info on the making of the art for Let There Be Love....

Art friends Dana and Linda with moi...:)

Just trying to give you a sense of scale on some of the paintings!

Who could resist buying a painting from these two??? Me with John and Lora Lea, who added one of the pieces from this show to their collection.

Lynda and me with her new painting, "Love" (alternate title, Evan).




Tricia and me hanging out with her newest art acquisition, "Kisses". I should mention here that Tricia kept reminding us all that it was her painting...not her and Darrell's painting. Guess who won the drawing for my painting "Cup of Miracles"??

Darrell, of course!

It was an altogether satisfying day in every way, on every level. Thanks to everyone who came out. It was a great time to share and feel the love!

P.S. My talk about the work was videoed so I may end up posting it later--have to see if I can figure out the editing part...:)

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"Abundance"

"Abundance"

oil, 16 x 12 on canvas panel

$1025/ Framed

Thanks to everyone who commented on my new video I posted yesterday--I am having fun, so who knows what it could lead too...:)

Don't you just love the periwinkle blue in the umbrella above? I bought two shirts to sleep in this past week-end simply because they were that color---it's a happy, feel good color. Like sky and ocean it just conjures up all manner of things that connect me back to the pure joy of life...:)

"Cheap Thrills"

oil, 8 x 8in on canvas panel

I love my job. Seriously. In so many ways it is almost impossible to pin it all down....:)

Today I get to give away something that makes people happy. The winner for February of the painting give-a-way is...(here are your hints)...... She is a watercolorist. She is a really sweet lady. She has a home in the Bahamas (I have had to work at not holding that one against her this winter...:) And she was in one of my workshops last summer.

Ann Greely of Lexington, KY. is the winner. Congratulations Ann! Pin It

"Under the Tuscan Sun...." SOLD

"Under the Tuscan Sun....."

oil, 6 x6in on canvas panel

$150

What is it about Italy that sets us off? Could it be the homemade mozzarella? The abundance of good wines served at every meal? Incredible art? Statue of David? The staggering oldness of it all?? The graciousness of the lives we see hinted at with every curtain moving in the breeze, every scented splash of color hanging from a balcony?

Maybe it's only the gelato. That would be enough...:)

Another slice of Italy served up for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy~

IN OTHER NEWS......

Enquiring minds want to know. Or then again---maybe you can't handle the truth. My interview with Daily Painters has hit the stands---click here to go to the Daily Painters website and check out the DP cafe link at the top of the page (you'll see a photo of me). I am the second interview on the page. Feel free to leave a comment. Just remember---I will be reading them and I know where you live....and if I don't I soon will. It's the Internet. There are no secrets.

Also, Gallery B has begged me to come in on Saturday, March the 20th, and chat about my inspiration for my show, "Let There Be Love.....". I will be there from around 1-3 to tell my story. I know that everyone of you now reading this will be there. Even if it means you have to fly in for it. And because of your extreme loyalty I felt the least I could do was to have a drawing for a small painting created specifically for this occasion to be given away at 3pm that day. Only those who have purchased a painting from the show at Gallery B and those in attendance (they are hauling in the red ropes for crowd control as we speak) will be eligible. I may have exaggerated when I said that Megan at Gallery B had begged me....but everything else is true....except for the red rope part. Okay, nothing is true except I will be talking at 1:30 and giving away a painting at 3 pm.

I only promise to entertain you here on the ole blog--I never said anything about telling the truth. Even if I had, it would most certainly have been a lie.

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"Let There Be Love" Book is Here!

Let There Be L...

Scripted, joyful pa...

By Dreama Tolle Perry

Book Preview

*This book is now available for purchase, just click on the cover above. I will also have them available at the opening reception for my show , February 4th, in Lexington, KY.

When I set out last year on my journey of doing pieces for my upcoming show in February, 2010, I had a lot of ideas for the paintings themselves, writings that would be part of them, and a book to contain it all. I was already in my "Yes" mode and decided that every idea I had for this body of work that I would, well..., stay true to it. What follows is my "manifesto" of sorts. I wrote it, then printed it out to hang on my studio door in order to remind me of what I wanted to do, why it mattered,....and I must tell you, I stopped to read it more than a few times---when I was tired, when I was stuck, when I didn't feel particularly inspired. And every time it helped put me back on my path.

Big Ideas. I've had big ideas before. They live large and elegantly within my ego. It is the transportation from the unseen to the seen that things can break down--the vision sputter and die in transit. That is what part of my mind is doing in the moment. "you've had big ideas before---ordered all the stuff, even maybe followed through on it--somewhere you start cashing in your chips, trading fearlessness for safety. Trimming back the dream as you go to make it fit in your small world. The result being something neither you nor anyone else particularly likes or gets excited over. So the key must be in keeping the original vision strong and growing stronger, adding to it as you go--never diminishing, never trading down. How is this done? Contemplating the end from the beginning. My vision must be kept in the mode of how may I serve? How can I best share beauty, love, joy, peace, harmony with the world. It is all about love. I must carry that with me every day into each painting, into each decision, into each interaction. Viewing it with the joy of a child on how can I make this the biggest, bestest artwork on the planet! BE vigilant in guarding my joy. This must not be work. It must not even smell of work, or obligation, or musts. It is my joy in this moment in this life I have been given to create and co create with my source things of astounding joy. Full of movement, grace, abundance, eloquence, depth of passion The world is our canvas How shall we paint Let us dip our brushes into hearts overflowing with love knowing that all things work together for our good. Nothing is too good to happen to us. We are loved, we are safe. All is well.

That's it, verbatim, bad grammar and all...:). Those were my real thoughts concerning how I began this body of paintings. And my intention for sharing this is that if it resonates with you, it will give you courage to make your artwork "the biggest, bestest artwork on the planet" (yes, I did say bestest) Or if artwork is not what you do, the vision to do your thing the biggest and bestest way you can do it. You deserve no less, your work deserves no less, and those of us waiting for your gift, deserve no less.

The world is your canvas. How shall you paint?

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