A tiny bit of sunshine in the midst of rainy weather can brighten up your day so when you read a story that resonates during some tough times you tend to take it on board.  A great little book ‘Success 101‘ by John Maxwell has many words of wisdom you can take with you wherever you go. Much better for the soul than the gossip magazines left about to fill in time, it will make you smile and ponder life’s mysterious ways.

Maxwell writes about a reporter on a journey to glean a story from a building work site. The first man interviewed is grumpy and when asked what he is doing says ‘earning a paycheck’, while a second man can only say ‘what does it look like I am doing’. When the reporter approaches a happy, whistling worker there is a much different scenario and to the same question is told…’I am building a shelter for the homeless’ as the worker excitedly points out the various areas that are taking shape, the kitchen and the dormitories…

You can see the difference a clear vision makes to everything that is achieved in a successful and perfect way just like you can tangibly feel the difference in emotion that an object made with enthusiasm and love reflects.  Art, I feel, has to come from both these places to reach the viewer at a deeper level, and arise from an inner direction rather than one swayed by what the art market dictates.

Limited Edition original digital pigment print

Keeping focus can be a hard call at times but worth the struggle when you hold something in your hands that has come to fruition from holding tight to a dream and pushing it through to completion. Having just completed my third book I returned to my painting to find it was not working as I wanted. The last time this occurred I allowed myself some childlike play with digital artworks to ease open the door. Below are two just completed original pigment prints aptly titled  ‘New Beginnings’ and ‘The Bigger picture’.

Limited Edition original digital pigment print

In a recent look at the other side of the world I encountered the way the human race has attempted, throughout time, to conquer the cyclic power of the elements and survive in the most inhospitable lands.

My journey began with a few days in Venice where, at the time, the people faced the highest flooding in around sixty years. It ended with a similar amount of time in Dubai, the world’s most out there city, carved out of the desert in around fifty years. It takes a lot of money to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

In between I passed through Egypt, and the Sinai Desert, awed by a wilderness that has remained untouched by time. The people living there with little money or possessions don’t attempt to alter their environment, but rather survive within it to the best of their means.

I visited Israel and Jordan at a time of unrest with the peoples of Palestine and Jerusalem facing loss of life through missile attacks.  The newspapers in these countries don’t hide the awful truth as ours are bound to do. They plaster confronting photographs of dead children on their front pages, just something to read while you stop for coffee.

This is the world we live in, so filled with uncertainty that even for those of us living in peaceful countries, the wrath of nature, through its earthquakes and storms, will continually upset the balance of survival.

The value of being creative then is that we are given an escape valve, a way to express our emotions in an acceptable way. If others can face life-threating situations on a day to day basis, as artists we can get over any economical downturn and survive to create another day. The proof so the saying goes is always in the pudding?

All images Copyright Lyne Marshall 2012.  May be used with permission only.

Light over the South Sinai Desert

Amazing textures of the desert

The beauty of the South Sinai

We all love that excited feeling of anticipation that precedes events that are life changing. There is an excess of energy that pushes us to complete all the tasks required in the lead up. Lots of communications, thinking and action, along with creativity, get the job done.

Artists, writers, musicians, and all creative people will face this scenario before exhibiting, publishing, performing and travelling. It is deadlines that create growth and movement. It can be daunting, and it takes confidence and nerve to lock ourselves into a time frame.

Winston Churchill said ‘success is not final, failure is not fatal; it the courage to continue that counts’. I think the reason most of us fear failure, and perhaps avoid risks, is that we don’t fully understand the cyclic nature of creativity. We talk about hitting a wall, trying to hard, and being stuck and think it’s the bitter end to our creativity.

In my new book, due early next year, I write about this as a natural progression, believing that if we have more understanding, the journey will be softened and give us all hope. In the meantime it is my turn for anticipation. Putting my faith in the process requires that I keep working and meet my deadline. With three weeks away traveling this will a big task. However I do love a good challenge.

Below is one of my latest painting Fires in the Valley.  [ I had though in retrospect it might have been more appropriate to call it Fire in the Belly]

Fires in the Valley 76cm x 76cm acrylic on canvas