IF : Animal Communication

When we were born we couldn't speak. We'd use our eyes, or we'd fuss, cry, grunt, groan...even laugh. Somehow we'd get our message across. We used intuitive communication. Animals speak this way, like Stallion and Raven here. They're having a 'quiet conversation.'

If we are still and if we quiet our minds, we could still communicate in this way. For most of us it would take a lot of practice. We could speak to animals, people in comas or those affected with autism. We could even communicate with loved ones who've crossed over. This type of communication is ancient and it's in all of us.

We just have to be opened to it and allow it to come through.

This is a painting I sold last year titled "Quiet Conversation." ( acrylic on canvas) click to enlarge...and thanks for your comments :)

IF : Gravity

Murphy ran to the window after hearing a loud "thud" outside. Even though he was safely inside his new home, he was still jumpy after living on the streets for so long. It seems he was left behind when his previous family moved away. Some people think pets are disposable, I guess.

But one sunny September day, just the right person came along. She sat on the curb with him for a very long time, almost as if she stayed to hear his whole story. She was pulling one of those two-wheeled carts to lug her groceries. She stood up from the curb, took off her sweater and laid it on the bags before gently placing Murphy on top. He looked up at her and sighed the deepest sigh. He knew he was going home.

As he looks out the window he sees it was only an apple released by gravity. There was nothing to fear. Not ever again.

He gave a big, lazy stretch and went back to curl up on his comfortable, familiar sweater.

This is a very old illustration done in acrylic and prismacolor pencils on bristol board. Please click to enlarge.

IF: Crash 1

I thought this word was challenging! I thought of several things, so here are the 2 I narrowed it down to.

The first one is about The 10th Annual Snooty-Sniffers Convention held each year( in my own mind.) Only the elite purebred dogs are allowed in the clubhouse to schmooze and booze, but Walter, a good ol' mutt from the 'hood, had enough of this snobbery and decided to crash this phony baloney gathering. He grabbed a bottle of whatever beer was on sale and hit the bar with attitude. What really made him mad was no one seemed to notice him. I'm sure he has something up his furry sleeve though, and he'll make sure they take notice soon...real soon!

(Also, please click on Crash 2 (to the left) and let me know which one you like!!)

IF: Crash 2

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The second post is in regards to 4 birds I saved last year after they had crashed into my French doors.(I'm not at all happy with the drawing.)The female Finch on the bottom right was actually saved twice! First from the crash into the door, and then from the mouth of the neighbor's cat later that same day. ( It still had the wound on it's beak from the window slam which is how I knew it was the same bird. ) I would pick the birds up after the crash against the door and give them CPR by blowing warm breath into my cupped hands. Eventually they would come to life after they came through the shock. (It's actually the shock that usually kills them, or a cat who sees them knocked out and goes in for the kill.) After a while they flutter and stir, and when I'm sure they're completely okay, I release them! Usually I break into a bad rendition of "Born Free" and watch them fly away. It's a wonderful feeling! Below is a photo of the Hummingbird just before it flew off. It circled me twice before leaving. I took that as a thank you!

Today I have decals on both doors that I bought at The Wild Bird Center. They look like etched leaves to you and I, but to the birds, they look like ultra-violet light that they stay away from. There have been no more incidents for a year!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by emila to list 6 wierd things about myself! I'm not sure if I can...not that I'm not weird, but maybe I don't want you to know certain things!! Well, okay...

1.) Food texture is a big thing with me. I can't stand slimy stuff. If my scrambled eggs look "wet", back they go. I like my fish on the well-cooked side too. Funny thing is I LOVE pudding. Go figure.

2.) I have hair angst. I never, ever like my hair. I just got it cut and for the first time in my life I'm not blonde...I went auburn, and I LOVE it! Crazy old lady. Ask me if I like it next week.

3.) I wear sneakers with just about every outfit. Not just any sneakers...matching ones, of course! Even if I'm semi-dressed up, you can be sure to see some spiffy sneakers on these feet.

4.) If I hear of a disaster on the news (a fire, flooding, car accident, etc.) I always worry if there were animals involved. I care about the people too, but I figure most of the response will be on them. I don't want the animals to be forgotten.

5.) I HATE snobbery. I live in a wealthy, pretentious area that is a lot about designer labels, big homes, golf memberships, Bentleys, etc. Not all of these folks are snobs, but the majority of them are. The ones that are nice are the ones who earned their money and never forgot where they came from. The snobs are the phonies who need to hide behind their money to feel better about themselves. And the nice ones never treat me like "the help." (When I'm doing a mural or pet care.) They treat me like a friend.

6.) I don't like talking on the phone very much. At the end of a day, I just want silence. I never used to be that way, but now I'm finding less and less time to take care of myself, so one of those ways is to just stop talking for a while. But then there are those times when you can't get me off the phone. Depends on how many drinks I've had :) yap yap yap yap yap.

I'm tagging all who want to share! Nobody specific..just have fun with it!

Illustration Friday: Sprout...of hope for the earth

I saw a photograph of a young African woman in a recent issue of National Geographic and something about her face really moved me. She was living in a dark room with no plumbing, no electricity, no clean water, no medicine and no schools. She lives in one of the "wealthiest" oil regions of the world, but instead of the promise of riches and a good life, the very source they'd hoped would make their lives more abundant had them living below poverty. Pollution from the oil refineries are killing the fish that used to sustain them, and crime is at an all time high. The future is very bleak. I'd like to think this young woman will be one of many who won't stand for the destruction of our earth. I found this quote that I imagine her chanting, over and over and over again. And like the seedling in her tiny window, it became a sprout which will eventually become a tree to help heal the earth.

"I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need. And listen, listen to what it is telling me. "- M. J. Slim Hooey

Acrylic and colored pencil on scrapbooking paper....click to enlarge image