It takes an island… #Arran #Scotland #friendship

A most amazing community and a heartfelt tribute. Thank you, Barb for doing this. This is a celebration of life.

Barb Taub

Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man:
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not aye when sought, man.
—A Bottle and a Friend, Robert Burns

A thank you letter to Arran.

Some weeks ago, I turned to Arran, the small Scottish island I call home, for help. Two friends and I had hoped to get together on Arran last April. Because of the pandemic, we postponed it to this year. But between continuing covid restrictions that left me marooned in Italy, and life-threatening health issues that came up for each of my friends, we realized that wasn’t likely either. (You can read about their personal, sad, funny, and amazingly life-affirming cancer journeys on Mary Smith’s Cancer Diaries and Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo.)

The solution, for anyone who has ever lived on Arran, was obvious. I posted a message on the island’s…

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Master Racism

David Redpath

I followed the money trail
That sap laden root of evil
Through the land of Mordor
To the heights of Mount Doom
Only to discover
Under a shadow of gloom
The dark arts of Sauron
Veiled behind the illusion
Of a philanthropic institution
Euphemistically referred to as
A reproductive health foundation

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Affair with Hemingway

“I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye – that was the trouble – I wanted to kiss you good night – and there’s a lot of difference.”  –  Ernest Hemingway

“They love me like a pack of wolves.”   – Ernest Hemingway

“Love is forever. Lust is for the moment. Got a moment?” –  Michael Gorman

 

Affair with Hemingway

 

Remote corners du café

Closerie des Lilas

Summer evenings beneath stars

Sidewalk tables and stories

Late at night – mon chambre

I take you to my bed

Crawl deep inside your stories

I have my way with you

You reach out through time

Together, we do Paris

Huddled in corners

Sipping wine and champagne

Dark Smokey tables shared

Avec Fitzgerald, Ezra et

Ford Madox Ford

War stories, the bulls

Nights at Bricktops

Josephine’s rocking the joint

Gertrude’s salon

Champagne et art du jour

Picasso, Modigliani

Breathless with anticipation

I surrender and plead for more

It is the life – it is life

Bereft, insatiable, pleading for more

C’est magnifique!

 

Bisous,

Léa

Red’s own story

“And whenever I’m in a situation where I’m wearing the same as 600 other people and doing the same thing as 600 other people, looking back, I always found ways to make myself different, whether it be having a red lining inside of my jacket, having red shoes, it hasn’t changed.”
– Jeremy Irons

“When in doubt wear RED.”
– Bill Blass

 

Red’s Own Story

 

She is the thick

Slick enamel

That covers my nails

A pointer when tracing

Concentric circles

On bare flesh

She is the sports car

Darting along the highway

Hugging the curves

Turning an eye

She is the ripe

Succulent strawberry

Her flesh firm

Yet yielding

Tantalizing dipped in dark chocolate

Suits her best

She is the

American beauty

Long stemmed, heady fragrance

Her tight buds unfurl

Exposing her inner delicacy

We forget the thorns

She is the creamy dark war paint

On my lips

A signature

When and where

I choose to leave my mark

She is fire

On the move

Churning inside

Rising up

Beckoning me on

She is

Passion

 

Bisous,

Léa

The Art of Theodor Kittelsen

Enchanting! I just couldn’t resist sharing.

SindrElf

1904 nøkken

Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857-1914) is my all-time favorite painter.

In this article I will show you some of my favorite works by him while attempting to explain how he has influenced my creativity.

1900 Far, far away Soria Moria Palace shimmered like Gold

Kittelsen was present in my life since I started school. The image above this text (Soria Moria Castle, 1900) was used as the cover of Norwegian literature textbooks.

This was because the image is based on a classic Norwegian fairytale by the same name. In fact, a lot of Kittelsen’s work was based on stories and fairy tales, as he often was contracted to make book illustrations.

1906 Skogtroll

One of the main reasons why I love Kittelsen’s work is his use of thematic contrasts.

He often mixes the beauty of Norwegian nature with the creepy horror of Norwegian folklore.

1907 The Svælg waterfall

Sometimes he gives nature intelligence, or gives concepts a physical presence.

1888 Ekko

The image above is another example of this.

You can faintly see Kittelsen has painted a…

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The Owl, The Pussycat… Fabulous Felines in History #2

Our human, Léa, has this and one other blog on her own. Since she is merely the typist on our blog and rarely mentioned by name, we decided to let her reblog today’s post. Colette et Simone

Les deux divas: ma vie en rose

The Owl, the Pussycat and the feline behind the scenes…

Oh yes, there was also the fabulous man who wrote of my adventures. His name was Edward Lear. He was devoted to me and to other felines who came to know him. In addition to my long luxurious fur, I am world class at the art of cuddling and along with the other felines entrusted to his care, we are equally devoted to him.

Lear was born the twentieth child of a London stock broker and his wife. In his late teens he left the family home with his eldest sister and began providing for himself with his skills as an illustrator. He continued to draw and paint throughout his life.

This prolific writer and artist (animals and landscapes) was compared to the work of the great Jean-Jacques Audubon. In addition to his writing and drawing, he gave drawing lessons. It…

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If you just smile…

                               “You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.”                                                     – Sir Charles (Charlie) Chaplin

 –

If you just smile

 

If you know him

At all – through old

Black and white

Silent screen film

You may know he was rich

Knighted by the Queen

 

But it wasn’t always so

He made other people

Laugh – his gift

The bootstrap to pull

Himself from poverty

From deep insanity

 

Learning to read others

A vital defense mechanism

Served him well

Distract, divert attention

He mastered it all

Survival of the keenest

 

Reaching deep inside

His darkness – producing

A smile, then another

They became easier

They were natural

From deep inside his pain

Rescuing others from theirs

 

All the while, he smiled

Made others smile, laughing

Till they thought they would burst

Slapstick – a special gift

Self-taught, an avid reader

The common man related

Core smiles don’t lie

 

Eyes that twinkle and 

Tell his secrets – little tramp

 

 

Bisous,  

 

Léa

Hemingway – advice for a writer

While reading Hemingway, again, I stumbled upon the following quote and couldn’t resist sharing it. Though Hemingway was addressing writing and writers I believe it applies to all creative endeavours. 

 

“In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and bend the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dulled and know I had to put it on the grindstone and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well-oiled in the closet, but unused.”                                      

– Ernest Hemingway, from his Preface – The First Forty-Nine Stories

Bisous,

Léa

Quotes – Pearls of wisdom…

Quotes – Pearls of wisdom? Or perhaps they are the spark for inspiration? If a quote speaks to you, explore the reason it does. If it is something you do not except, why doesn’t it? If quotes were charms for a bracelet I could not lift either arm. Anything that can get me thinking, defending my position, looking at something in a new light, it has served me well. Quotes are a powerhouse and just wait for us to discover them and examine what they mean to us as individuals. Perhaps there are a few you can take for a walk across the page, canvas… It is my hope you will find something among what is offered here and see where it takes you… Often I find my best work when I attack a statement I have strong feelings about regardless if they are positive or negative. In fact, the negative ones are often the most enlightening. 

“If you haven’t changed your mind lately how can you be sure you still have one?” Author unknown

A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool.” – Moliere

We die only once and for such a long time.” – Moliere

Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.” – Moliere

Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough, you can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” – J.M. Barrie

I am not young enough to know everything.” – J.M. Barrie

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” – J.M. Barrie

For several days after my first book was published, I carried it about in my pocket and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure the ink had not faded.” – J.M. Barrie

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” – J.M. Barrie

We never understand how little we need in this world until we know the loss of it.” – J.M. Barrie

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” – A.A. Milne

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” – A.A. Milne

You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.”   – A.A. Milne

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” – A.A. Milne

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.” – A.A. Milne

Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”          – Lewis Carroll

I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then.”            – Lewis Carroll

But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ said Alice. ‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the cat. ‘We’re all mad here.” – Lewis Carroll

That’s the reason they’re called lessons, because they lesson from day to day.” – Lewis Carroll

Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”                      – Mark Twain

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

*

Bisous,

Léa

 

Bleu

IMG_0340
Armand in his atelier
IMG_0417
Le croix de Cathar

Bleu

Cobalt

As the tiny rivers

Winding beneath

Papery thin skin

I watch as they have slowed

But remember their faster pace                                                    

DSCN2043
Armand et Auguste

Cerulean

As the plastic cannula

From oxygen tank

To your nasal orifice 

Easing each breath

Your hands reach for me

Offering each cheek to be kissed

Royal

As the dancer

In the flames

As you welded and forged

Iron and steel into magnificent forms

Gates, railings but also art

A band of musicians

Prominent upon your mantel

My own, croix de Cathar

A gift like your friendship

Armand

Bleu shall forever

Be the colour of you

Increasingly fragile

As you reach out for Auguste

The great-grandson who shares

Your sparkle from cobalt eyes  

Bisous,

Léa

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