Water Wind Breath

Illustration Friday - "Swept"

2011-06-11T16:43:00.004Z

This started out as a pen drawing scanned into Photoshop, various homemade brushes applied.

She is being swept by the current, carried out to sea by the waves, trusting that life will carry her home...

Illustration Friday - Bicycle

2011-04-23T13:42:00.001Z

Ink and digital.

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

2011-03-20T14:38:00.000Z

A Ted Talk about what could also be called... Water Wind Breath :-)

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

Animated Mutants

2011-03-06T14:00:00.000Z

Finally got around to introducing my animated header mutant. I know it's not much, but she does move...a bit.
I need to read up on Actionscript to make it a bit more interesting.

Finally!

2011-01-23T20:44:00.000Z

After weeks of hard work my new website is finally "up and running", still needs a lot of work of course. Lots of material to go in there. I've managed to upload my first pdf greetings card that is available for free download. This series is definitely for the vegetarians and animals rights activists.

http://www.mutanthelianthus.com/index.php/the-dark-side/zombie-stuff/50-naughty-easter-bunny

Illustration Friday - Chicken

2011-01-16T15:05:00.000Z

Ink Drawing colourised in Photoshop. Part of my Zombie Easter Card Collection, should be available for download from my new website in a month or so.

Illustration Friday - Atmosphere

2010-08-21T21:32:00.002Z

Ink and digital.

Atmosphere as in the stuff that surrounds the planet rather than ambiance... The idea was instant, the execution took me most of the day with a lot of failed attempts, but I suppose that is how we learn eh?

Illustration Friday - Star gazing

2010-08-17T21:10:00.000Z

Ink drawing colourised in Painter and Photoshop.

Pomegranate Heart

2010-07-24T20:08:00.001Z

Something of a surreal still life - 30.5 cm in diameter, 2 cm deep, acrylic on canvas. Using a round canvas can be a bit of a challenge, especially when it comes to framing. I solved the problem by adding a bead and sequin embroidered ribbon and varnishing it all around.
This painting is currently on sale at Ebay

Early Bird Catches the Worm

2010-05-23T12:14:00.001Z

Ink and digital.

Eternal Envelope

2009-12-28T12:38:00.001Z

Eternal Envelope
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

First version, more may follow...

Christmas present

2009-12-22T07:51:00.005Z

I took three of my latest images and turned them into cards as a Christmas present for one of my friends. I'm really enjoying this process, but I think I had most fun designing the box!

Illustration Friday - "Undone"

2009-12-20T11:36:00.003Z

Ink drawing scanned and colourised in Photoshop, spruced up with my very own, freshly baked, Grunge Brushes! I feel good, nanananana, like I knew that I would now, nanananananana. I feeel good...

I'm back!

2009-12-19T19:04:00.001Z

rose-tea
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

Finally the icy cold fingers of artists block are losening their grip...
I've been playing around with brush creating in Photoshop, and I like it!

Christmas Orange

2009-05-23T10:01:00.001Z

Christmas Orange
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I do like my oranges :-) I make these clove stuffed oranges (my mother calls them Pommanders) every Christmas and hang them on the mantlepiece by red satin ribbons. I particularly enjoy cutting patterns into the peel. If I'm lucky they dry out completely and I can keep them for years, they look quite decorative in a bowl with potpourri.

I started on this painting before my eye operation and only added the final touches to it today. I'm finding detailed work a bit of a struggle still, but it's what I enjoy doing, and I think the result is worth it.

It's a Miracle - I can see!

2009-03-24T15:45:00.003Z

I'm currently home on sick leave recovering from a cataract operation. On a scale from 1-10 it ranks pretty much on a strong 7 on my Shittometer scale. Being poked in the eye with sharp objects is probably my least favourite thing in the whole world.

On a more positive note I have discovered where the zoom button is on Firefox which makes reading text on screen a whole lot easier than doing it in hardcover.

However...

My mother sent me a sweet little Swedish book by the artist Ernst Billgren called 'What is Art and 100 other incredibly important questions'. I don't think it has been translated into English which seems a pity really as it is very funny and profoundly true. Here's a taster:

Question No 23.
How do I become successful?

Short answer:
Make someone happy.

Long answer:
You become successful to the extent that someone profits from what you do, have their ideals, conceptions confirmed, ideologically, economically, aesthetically or in some other way. This applies if you mean successful in the eyes of others. If you mean successful in your own eyes megalomania will suffice.

Oh dear, there goes my alarm again - time for another dose of eye drops :-(

Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn

2009-03-15T16:46:00.001Z

Please don't miss this opportunity to partake of this meditation workshop, it is well worth your time.

Gotan Project

2009-02-16T08:55:00.000Z

Hearts!

2008-11-27T07:37:00.002Z

Find more photos like this on The 100 Day Reality Challenge

I keep seeing hearts everywhere, at least one a day, and I have been doing this for quite some time. Maybe it's the old thing that once you start noticing something you spot it more easily, or perhaps it's the law of attraction. But maybe, just maybe, the Universe is trying to tell me something - telling me to be more loving - for certainly when I am, things run much more smoothly :-)

SeaDragon

2008-11-16T14:29:00.002Z

Acrylic on 60 x 60 cm box canvas

A gift for a pregnant friends nursery. It's the first painting I've finished in a long time. Can't say I'm that pleased with it, but then again, I can't really hope to improve unless I practise a lot and am prepared to fail, again, and agin, and again... I'll get it right some day, I know it.

Create!

2008-10-19T19:52:00.001Z

I Love the World

2008-10-18T06:18:00.002Z

I know it's a commercial, but it is so enjoyable! Kind of puts things into a perspective that makes life seem more like an adventure rather than tedious drudgery :-)

I went and bought a juicer yesterday, I feel ready now to take my health regime to the next level. Even though I haven't been that "good" I do feel my eyesight has improved just from the few things I have done. (For those of you who don't know me, if you are a stranger who just happened to stumble upon my blog by accident, or a long lost friend I haven't spoken to for ages, I was informed in July that I have cataracts in both eyes and that the pressure is too high. The doctor is saying "operation" and I'm saying "not yet, I want to see what I can do myself first").

Aerobic exercise seems to help, but the real magic happened when I started taking supplements. Imedeen is an incredibly pricy product intended to juvenate the skin from within (£70.00 for a two month supply). But Marit thought "if it makes the skin more supple, obviously it can't just target the outside of the body, the inside must get some benefit from it too". I have to say, my eyes hurt a lot less now and I've only been taking them for about two weeks, and yesterday when I went out I was amazed how much clearer I could see. The sensible voice in my head says "Sure, your feeling a little bit better now, but eventually you will have to have the operation". But The Law of Attraction is working all the time, so if I can't convince myself that I'm going to get better, how am I going to convince God?
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith...

Howling to the Moon

2008-10-14T22:49:00.002Z

I've just been watching a documentary on TV about In-i; "dance theatre" with dancer/choreographer Akram Khan and actress Juliette Binoche ... and I find myself feeling very moved, and quite upset. These are people who take their art seriously in a way that I have never allowed myself to do. Something has been stewing in me for a long time now and it is ready to erupt. Good, bad or indifferent, my art takes me where IT wants to go, and I just have to hang on and hope for the best.

I have had so many creative impulses lately that I feel like I'm walking through a psychedelic dream (having cataracts on both eyes obviously helps with creating a strange and hazy view of the world, the reality on the inside is more deeply felt as the reality on the outside takes on a more and more dreamlike appearance). I cry because I recognise how much I have in common with other artist and how isolated I feel spending my days in absense of these my kindred creatures...

Gary Jules - Falling Awake

2008-09-26T15:44:00.001Z

I guess you just have to listen to the lyrics...

Another Logo For Anne

2008-09-07T16:47:00.002Z

Another Logo For Anne
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I'm basically back where I started here, which just goes to show that your initial idea is probably the best one. But you still have to try other things, don't you? I kinda like it anyway. The font is Larabie's Berylium.

AnnesLogo

2008-08-30T21:06:00.001Z

AnnesLogo
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I'm currently working on some design for my Swedish friend Anne who's a healer. The idea is to create a complete design package that she can use and re-use for years to come. Obviously the logo is the starting point, and the most important bit. I've taken inspiration from the tools of her trade.

I have recently invested in Serif software; "the poor designers Adobe". Actually it's surprisingly impressive considering the humble price. Makes one wonder if the "Industry Standard Tools" really have to be as pricy as they are. Especially when you consider that European customers pay almost twice as much as they do in the US.

Invitation to join The 100 Day Reality Challenge

2008-08-16T02:47:00.001Z

100 Day Reality Challenge

2008-08-02T07:45:00.002Z

Yesterday I started my first season with the 100 Day Reality Challenge.
If you want to know more, go to The 100 Day Reality Challenge website.

Illustration Friday - "Canned"

2008-07-27T15:37:00.005Z

We're not beginning ...to ... to ... mean something?
Mean something? You and I mean something?

Nell and Nagg - from Endgame by Samuel Beckett

I'm finally taking time to get into Corel Painter; this is my first experiment with "scratchboard".

Illustration Friday - "Electricity"

2008-05-11T09:22:00.002Z

"Yes, it was true... he really did love her!"

Illustration Friday - "Seed"

2008-05-05T15:02:00.003Z

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg;
and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs.
Dreams are the seedlings of realities."
~ James Allen

(4) Heart Chakra Chant

2008-04-27T12:34:00.001Z

Headphones is a must :-)
Thanks Jean for getting me started today, the trail is leading me down the rabbithole big time :-)

Welcome To The Matrix Insights To Reality

2008-04-27T11:33:00.001Z

MeTube1

2008-04-06T17:22:00.001Z

I've promised several people what I was going to show them this short clip of my father (taken from a "promotional video" my granddad made about his company). It's only since I've started making these video clips that I've actually realised how much I look like my father, and my grandfather, although I do have my mothers cheekbones...

Return to the easel

2008-02-14T06:45:00.002Z

It all seems so clear in hindsight doesn't it? You make a small shift and suddenly it all falls into place and you wonder why you didn't do that a long time ago! Cuz I'm stupid that's why.

I'm not blaming anyone but myself, but, I had relatives visiting over Christmas. This meant turning my studio into a guestroom, which in turn meant that I had nowhere reasonably suitable to work. I did do a little bit of painting at the dining table, but it's not the same thing is it. Then I wondered why I was feeling depressed and lethargic.:-? I'm not saying I didn't have other problems as well, but, if I'm not doing creative work I really fall to pieces (stuffing on the floor, button eyes hanging on a thin thread). Last week I took some holiday, sorted my stuff, updated my website and organised my studio to give me some room to work again - this week I've started getting up early again to do some painting in the morning before I leave for my dayjob and - BINGO! - all of a sudden I feel OK. Now how weird is that? Duuhhh, as my kids would say.

Reading 'The Sound of Paper' by Julia Cameron - "We want to be like other people, but we're not." - It sounds stupid, but all the evidence points to it being true, some people are different, they actually need to paint/write/sculpt/dance or whatever almost as much as they need to breathe, or they go bonkers! Unfortunately I'm one of them. So I've decided that I need to take responsability for my ailment. I need to make it a priority to do something creative every day, regardless. And when my inner assassin sneaks up on me and stabs me in the back I need to remember the advice from Ms Cameron, and many other clever artists - It is not our business to judge whether or not our work is good or bad. Our business is to show up at the easel every day and do the work. Critique can come later. - So that's what I'm going to do ;-)

Tales & Legends - Illustration Friday

2008-01-27T14:35:00.001Z

Batty Rap

2008-01-26T11:55:00.001Z

Happy Hour is 9 to 5?

2008-01-26T11:46:00.000Z

I'm an idealist, I freely admit that. I believe in a better world tomorrow. In spite of all the crap that's going on around me, I try to focus on the positive bits. And when I really THINK about it, most of the stuff in my life is unbelievably good, but, there is certainly room for improvement as well.

My main concern at the moment is to be Happy at Work. Yeah, I actually believe that it's possible! I know it sounds crazy, but I'm willing to give it a chance. And I found this really cool Free EBook that's all about Happiness at Work, thus I know I'm not alone :-)

I may not be able to implement this at this very moment, but I'm convinced that,according to the Law of Attraction, if I focus on being happy at work, the Universe will put me in a position where I will be, one way or t'other. I believe in The Universal Dinner Lady.

The things that Alexander Kjerulf lists as beneficial to work happiness are:

# Really enjoy what you do.
# Do great work you can feel proud of.
# Work with amazing people.
# Know that what you do is important.
# Are appreciated at your work.
# Get to take responsability.
# Have fun at work.
# Learn and grow.
# Make a difference.
# Feel motivated and energized.
# Know that you kick butt.

I can actually say yes to most of those things, all I need to do now is find those few missing ingredients...

There are som really good free eBooks out there and websites with ideas for transforming your life, I'm thinking about creating a list here. Stay tuned folks, "I'm back and I'm flapping free!"

Thistle Down - Christmas Spirit

2007-12-24T09:35:00.001Z

Illustration Friday - Visitors

2007-08-27T16:03:00.001Z

Illustration Friday - Visitors
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

Labyrinth #2

2007-08-27T11:53:00.001Z

Labyrinth #2
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I think it's getting there...

Labyrinth

2007-08-26T17:51:00.001Z

Labyrinth
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

A Self Empowering Message - Esther Hicks Abraham

2007-08-12T12:22:00.001Z

Baba Yaga

2007-08-05T10:23:00.001Z

Not much to get excited about, basically I'm just testing. YouTube seems to have quite a lot of bugs... I made the music myself on bodhran and didgeridoo to go with my Baba Yaga exhibition.

Another year older and not an inch taller...

2007-08-02T09:20:00.000Z

I turned 44 last Sunday. Hmmm, it's not a bad age I s'pose. It has forced me to take stock of my life though. I've made a few changes, trying to simplify things. I'm one of those people who tends to have too many projects on the go at any one time, and I'm beginning to feel that I should know better. Old enough to be grown up about it.

I'm reading 'The New Feminine Brain' by Mona Lisa Schulz, and I'm glad. It turns out I'm not that weird after all. As matter of fact I just seem to be a typical female; sensitive, intuitive, emotional, passionate and all over the place, fluctuating with the Moon. Nice! I'm half way through the book, hoping that the second half will give me the lowdown on how to actually make it all come together and work. Would be good if I could figure it out before I reach menopause you know.

I started reading the new Harry Potter book as well, but I find it hard to focus on fictional stuff at the moment, too much to do, too little time and energy. I have two projects that I want to finish this year, mhmmm, that's just enough to keep me occupied, not too stressed, not too bored, just right.

Jennifer Louden - Issue 5

2007-07-26T08:50:00.001Z

The Wave of Love

2007-07-12T08:32:00.001Z

Zoe

2007-07-02T07:07:00.001Z

I finally found the courage to finish this. I nicked the design for the brooch from Leonardo (it crops up in a few of his Madonna paintings) but the colours are inspired by Botticelli. Everything except the face is "out of me own head", stylized expression intended. Just thought I'd let you know that :-)

When I find myself in times of trouble...

2007-06-23T12:22:00.001Z

...I'm always led to find the perfect book. In this case 'The Life Organizer' by Jennifer Louden.

It is not another "Cram your life into a to-do list and get busier trying to make your life perfect" sort of book.

What it is, is a series of intelligent questions to make you think about how you can live your life with less effort and more joy. It is possible, I know it is, I just keep getting caught up in the situations in my life all the time and forget... every time. Sometimes I even forget to breathe :-)

It also contains stories from women whom I can identify with, our expeiences are so similar... you're never good enough, you never give enough, no one else is going to give you permission to take care of yourself. You have to ask for what you need, you have to give yourself permission.

You can get an excellent freebie if you go to this page and enter you email address. I did, and so far nothing bad has happened to me, on the contrary. I've downloaded the pdf file and printed it out, and I'm going to bind it with blank pages inbetween to use for journaling.

Funny innit? How I keep asking the same questions over and over again and keep finding the same answers again and again, and the forget again. Anyone who didn't know me would think I'm stupid or something ;-)

Once there was a Woman...

2007-06-20T09:10:00.000Z

As I am slowly hankering down the razorblade of life, hobbling from one nervous breakdown to another, God gently whispers in my ear...

"... It doesn't have to be this way you know..."

Just for a fraction of a hysterical moment I stop dead in my tracks.

"... you could try... going a bit easier on yourself..."

Easier? EASIER!!!?? The world is falling apart, I'm making one horrifying mistake after another, and you're telling me to GO EASIER ON MYSELF?!!! ARE YOU MAD!!!!!???? I'm everything that is wrong with the world (just ask my ex-mother-in-law, she'll tell you) and there is only one remedy for such inherent wiccedness as what I suffer from; to try ever harder, to push myself to the limit and beyond, harder and harder, faster and faster...

And God replies...

"Hmmmm..."

"Go on then. Knock yourself out kid. Get back to me when you're finished... and we'll... have another little chat. OK?... :-)"

I suppose you have a different perspective on things when you're eternal and omnipresent... Divine beings just don't understand what it's like to be human.

Zoe - 1st sketch

2007-05-26T09:21:00.000Z

I've begun a portrait. When I say begun, I mean I've done the first sketch... It looks ever so stiff, awkward. I shouldn't be too hard on myself I suppose, it's been a while. I can't really expect to, not do a portrait of a stranger (well, relative stranger) for almost a year, and then sit down and do a perfect image straight away. It takes time to get to know a new face. It does for me anyway.

I'm planning to do this in "renaissance" style, because I think her face lends itself to that. I want to try and do justice to that "Italian" beauty she reminds me of. Every time I see her I think "Leonardo... Botticelli... Florence!" I think that's what is referred to as Artistic License ;-)

Illustration Friday - Citrus

2007-05-13T17:05:00.000Z

Now this was one of those funny coincidences - the Illustration Friday topic of the week just happens to be 'Citrus' just as I needed a picture of one or a few Oranges... funny how that happens innit? I'm working on my website and doing a page about the Orange Cafe and obviously their logo is... yepp, an Orange :-)

Baba Yaga #2

2007-04-29T21:48:00.000Z

I believe this is (almost) finished, although I may make a few changes.

Just the pebbles...

2007-04-29T21:35:00.000Z

Ok Juliette. Is this what you meant when you said you wanted a picture of just the pebbles? :-)

My new haircut

2007-04-22T18:57:00.001Z

Just me again...
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

The Ketchup Effect

2007-04-20T08:07:00.000Z

The second painting in this series is taking it's time being born... With the first one I was riding a wave that picked me up and swept me along with it.
Baba Yaga #2 needs consideration, contemplation and a whole lot of subtle tweaking. It still keeps me interested though, that's a good sign. I always feel that if a subject feels boring to me then it must be even more so to other people.

Like body language, there is subliminal communication in line and form. I think we unconsciously interpret how an artist felt when she or he drew that particular line, added that smudge of red paint that so delicately pulls your heartstrings and makes you tremble inside, if there is desire in the artwork we feel it. If it's simply an exercise in well rehersed technique, we feel it too.

Technique is important in painting as it is in dancing or the making of music, we need to feel that we command our chosen material, style and art form. It is when we know what we're doing that we can relax and have the confidence to focus on where we're going rather than how we get there. This is when inspiration has free flow. It's impossible to say when the moment changes, because it only does when we're not looking. When the Muse arrives she must find you working (who was it that said that?), brush in hand and ready to go.

When the breakthrough comes it's usually when you're just about to give up. You work and work and struggle... and then all of a sudden ! Ooops ! you gracefully slide, without resistance, to your goal. I would love to be an overnight success now, after all, I've been working on it for thirty years or so.
Dear Goddess, give me ketchup.

I'm finished!

2007-03-08T10:19:00.000Z

But that's alright... I've already got the next one lined up :-)

Attention to detail...

2007-03-06T09:45:00.000Z

I'm adding the final touches to my latest still life, and as usual I curse my own obsession for minute detail. I'll be fiddling away with those bits of dried grass for days... Quite pleased with the scissors though...

I think, as an artist, I've always felt the urge to get close to my subject, and I mean really up close.
I can remember as a child how I loved to sit on the ground and examine small things: insects, plants, pebbles and feathers, crawling around mud heaps that had been pummelled by the rain and turned into Fairy castles with turrets and windows and secret entrances into the Underworld. There's just something about the format of these paintings I'm doing at the moment that makes me passionate about them. If I try setting it up as a traditional still life, propped up against the wall or something, my brain just goes "Booooring!" But if I scatter it over the surface of the table and view it from above, my heart leaps with joy, "Yeah Baby! that's the way we like it!"

Weird, innit? Told you I was strange, didn't I?

Every season has its scent...

2007-03-04T12:45:00.000Z

I just love new smells and new tastes. Yesterday I discovered Fat Face, and my new favourite fragrance is 'Radical Relief Moisturiser'. I smother myself in the stuff and drink in the fragrance in deep breaths, delicious! I'm quite fond of their clothing as well, but at the moment I can't afford it. I have to save up my pennies and return in a month or two. I yearn for all natural stuff, clothes for adventures, and then adventures to honour the clothing. I long for the sea (not all your fault Joseph), and climbing on rocks, treasure hunting on the shore.

I watched 'Half Light' with Demi Moore a few days ago. The story is alright, but the scenery is breath taking and I found myself whimpering "I wanna live by the sea!!!!" Obviously in a picturesque cottage, with whitewashed walls and quirky secondhand furniture, and, needless to say, a large studio with north facing windows. Hmmm, let's throw in a London pied a terre for good measure, if you're going to dream you might as well do it properly.

Still life, busy life...

2007-03-03T09:40:00.000Z

I haven't done the Illustration Friday topic this week, I've been busy doing other stuff. It has occurred to me how precious Time is becoming to me, now that I have to spend more than half my day at "work", making a living. I'm not complaining, I quite enjoy my day job, and the hours are perfect, giving me those precious hours in the morning to paint etc.

This painting (detail above) is coming along quite nicely. At this point I'm still "in love" with it. That's the phase that allows me to do it in the first place. This will soon be replaced by the critical phase, where I'm likely to grab a sharp object and go like Norman Bates in 'Psycho', slashing the offending picture to shreds (only kidding, just...). The Inner Critic is what keeps me on my toes, pushing me to work harder, improve my technique, but it is also a relentless perfectionist. The one that creates, my Inner Child, grabs the picture in her chubby little hand and holds it up to passers by and says, "Look! I made this, ain't I clever?" ;-)

Illustration Friday - Gravity

2007-02-17T17:19:00.000Z

"0- Gravity"
Graphite, polycolor pencils & Sepia Artist ink.
Paula, hope you don't mind that I used one of the photos you sent me as inspiration for this weeks Illustration Friday's topic.

Illustration Friday - Crash

2007-02-11T13:18:00.000Z

Faber-Castell Sepia Artist Pen, watercolour, Polycolor pencils and acrylic titanium white in my ugly pink sketchbook.

Illustration Friday; Sprout #1

2007-02-03T10:04:00.000Z

It only occurred to me today how fortuitous it is that Illustration Friday is just that; Friday. That means that I can do it on Saturday morning. No excuses - I Do Have Time. Period. So from now on I will. And I will publish it whether it's good or not. Because I want to. So there.

Morfars båt

2007-01-23T19:26:00.000Z

Morfars båt
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

Self Portrait With Fragmentation

2007-01-06T15:21:00.000Z

Self Portrait With Fragmentation
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

The first in a new series. I'm making progress with the acrylics, making them look and behave more like oils. I love the "tactileness" of it. You can be so much rougher with acrylics. Let it all hang out! :-D

I was in London last week, made the trip over to Tate Modern. I was so thrilled to be so close to so much excellent art that I couldn't help myself; I wandered about with a big stupid grin on my face. The cool and sophisicated in their bohemian clothes and lugubrious and knowing faces stared at me in disgust and disdain.

Obviously I didn't know the first thing about art seeing as I so blatantly broke the first law of Art Snobbery - Thou shalt not smile in a Gallery!

How can they not smile? Don't they feel exhilirated? Doesn't it make them want to sing and dance around? The kids know what it's all about though, they were running and jumping and dancing about, shouting with joy. Makes so much more sense to me... that's how one should behave in a gallery.

The Power of Now

2006-12-20T09:24:00.000Z

"Nobody chooses dysfunction, conflict, pain. Nobody chooses insanity. They happen because there is not enough presence in you to dissolve the past, not enough light to dispel the darkness."

"Present-moment awareness creates a gap not only in the stream of mind but also in the past-future continuum. Nothing truly new and creative can come into this world except through that gap, that clear space of infinite possibility."

"Enlightenment consciously chosen means to relinquish your attachment to past and future, and to make the Now the main focus of your life."

"It is "the peace of God, which passes all understanding". Compared to that happiness is quite a shallow thing."

"The ego believes that in your resistance lies your strength, whereas in truth resistance cuts you off from Being, the only place of true power. Resistance is weakness and fear masquerading as strength. What the ego sees as weakness is your Being in its purity, innocence and power."

From "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

Kundalini

2006-10-10T16:06:00.000Z

Love what is and what is will change into something better - Fire

100 x 120 cm acrylic on canvas

I'm back! Did anyone miss me? No?!! I've been gone more than two weeks! Our PC was struck by lightning :-( It's very, very dead I'm afraid. Hubby's connected up the ooooold PC with dial-up modem, it is very sloooow. I won't be posting much to Flickr that's for sure ;-) Anyways, I've gone sort of abstract lately as you can see.

Making watercolour swatches

2006-09-03T10:04:00.000Z

Chai Latte

2006-08-14T11:12:00.000Z

Chai Latte
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I have recently become addicted to Vanilla Chai Latte. But I don't think it's a bad thing really. It means I don't drink nearly as much coffee as I used to, and... it makes you feel warmhearted and kindly disposed towards the whoooole world. All in all I reckommend it. The beautiful tin was designed by Albion Communications (here seen in company with my new favourite mug from Pier. Yeah I know, I lead a luxurious life!)

South American Pottery

2006-07-03T16:46:00.000Z

South American Pottery
Originally uploaded by Marit Cooper.

I tried out my new sketch book what I bought in the British Museum book shop. These guys are on exhibition in Birmingham Museum - staircase monter. The little one looks like he was designed by Tim Burton :-)

It's vacation time!

2006-07-01T20:49:00.000Z

My mother is visiting at the moment, which gives me the perfect excuse to not do very much :-) That's fine, it means that I have time to think... and read. Her visit also means that I've been given the incentive to return to my healthy life style (after a few weeks of sin and indulgence). Like me she prefers vegetarian cooking (well I must have gotten it from somewhere, mustn't I?) Maybe I'm on the right track now to lose some weight... some of her self-discipline may rub off on me, you never know.

This visit's highlight has been a daytrip to London and The British Museum. Egyptology has always been one of my mothers greatest interests. I grew up on Akhenaten and Hatshepsut. Not that I remember much about it now.

It gave me great pleasure to take her to see the Egyptian collections. We also had a look at the Greek galleries. Mum studied Greek and Roman history at the university as a mature student, so she knows all the names for the details on Greek temples and loads of stuff. I'm proud of my mother, she has class, and a style all her own.

Mum was the one who really got me started as an artist. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from when my mother sat and painted with me, sometimes for hours on end. Once when I was quite little she actually lost track of time and suddenly said to me "Oh dear, it's the middle of the night!", for it was dark outside the window. She told me stories, and sometimes she'd read aloud from the books she enjoyed herself, like some of Ray Bradbury's short stories. She hardly ever said "I don't have time now." If I wanted her attention she'd put down whatever it was she was doing (if possible) and spend time with me. Although she's never told me what to do, hardly ever interfered in my life (even when I was headed for disaster!) she's always been there to support me and sometimes to pick up the pieces and nurse me back to life. Her philosophy is that we all have to make our own way in the world, make our own mistakes and take what ever wisdom we can from them.

My mother always had a sense of adventure, and I'm happy to say that she's kept it. At the age of 68 she's still keen to travel and see new things. She doesn't own a television set, but she listens to the culture programs on the radio and she reads a lot, in Swedish, English and Spanish (She's read "Jonathan Strange" twice... in English!).

I was thinking as I watched her wander through the halls, if I'm anything like her in 25 years I'll be very lucky :-)