‘Lady Bougainvillea’ – Day 323/365

‘Lady Bougainvillea’ – Day 323/365

by | Nov 19, 2019

Our minds like to put everything into boxes, when really our physical and emotional selves should grow entwined like a wild and thorny but lush bougainvillaea hedge through the fleshy limbs of a high reaching cactus. ⁠
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Funnily enough the bougainvillaea flowers are seen in some cultures as symbols of peace and encouragers of free trade between two entities.

ORIGINAL COPY POSTED ON INSTAGRAM DURING THE CHALLENGE

My heart was feeling strong today and my body more and more like the me I was missing (hooray for restorative back yoga with Claire from SpineShine) and so I painted all the happy body feels. Yes, this is apparently what my happy healing body feels like – bougainvillaeas laced through a cactus😆⁠
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It does little good to separate our bodies from our intuition and spirits. But we do that, don’t we? Our minds like to put everything into boxes, when really our physical and emotional selves should grow entwined like a wild and thorny but lush bougainvillaea hedge through the fleshy limbs of a high reaching cactus. ⁠
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Funnily enough the bougainvillaea flowers are seen in some cultures as symbols of peace and encouragers of free trade between two entities. How cool but who knew? 🤷🏻⁠
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I wish for you too a body and spirit embraced by bougainvillaea tendrils and able to move as one peaceful entity. 🌺⁠

(artist retains all rights to print reproductions of this painting)
Inspiration : artist’s own and common licence photography

‘I Sea Cactus’ – Day 281/365

‘I Sea Cactus’ – Day 281/365

by | Oct 9, 2019

ORIGINAL COPY POSTED ON INSTAGRAM DURING THE CHALLENGE

When I paint on these canvas offcuts I keep them in place by pinning them to a piece of cork. Today for some strange reason I was overwhelmed by the desire to paint a cactus. I woke up with thoughts of one of my favourite books – Stargirl, in which a strange but wonderfully different girl talks to a cactus called Señior Seguaru.⁠
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When I finished the painting I googled ‘cactus quotes’.⁠
This was the first one that popped up.⁠
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Wouldn’t you know it – it’s by the author of Stargirl.⁠
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“She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds, we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.” ~ Jerry Spinelli⁠
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I love days like this – when I feel like I’m entangled in a dance with the muse and the universe and memories gone by. 🌟⁠

(artist retains all rights to print reproductions of this painting)
Inspiration image: common licence