I Never Think of Death©
Posted: Saturday, May 15, 2010
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
I never think of death, but I am profoundly aware, at the age of 75, that the greater part of my life is behind me. At this time of the year there is virtually no window in my home that I can look out of that does not reflect the efforts of my gardening with brilliant colors.
During the summer I think about the garden's brown blandness that will come during the long winter months and it is during the summer that I paint birdhouses to hang in the gardens and on the fence coming up the long driveway to my home. Currently there are at least 115 birdhouses.
We have lots of birds and they use the plain birdhouses, but I paint the colorful ones for the winter garden and it brightens my view from the many windows of the house during those bleak months when the colorful flowers are no long there.
Painting the birdhouses has a calming effect on me. It takes me totally away from the daily chores and business of living. It is really easy to do. I rarely make the birdhouses and mostly buy the unpainted one's whenever I can find them on sale.
I give them a base coat, let it dry and then decide what to put on them. My hands, at this stage of life, are shaky, but that does not deter me. Sometimes I randomly just paint a design. Other times I draw what I want such as this Fire Station or Fruit Stand. Once I finish painting them I put a couple of final coats of exterior varnish on them so they will last quite awhile in the weather over many seasons.
They are always colorful and are often a conversation starter from a visitor who may not have ever been to Avalon Stained Glass School & Creativity Center.
Along the way I have learned many techniques of one stroke painting and that opens the doors to many other artistic endeavors such as murals, painting furniture and more. It is amazing how one can expand one's mind and talents from such a simple endeavor as painting a birdhouse. I wholeheartedly recommend the Donna Dewberry Books as they are simple, inexpensive and easy to learn from.
As I said, "I never think of death". Yet I realize that I am now the oldest living person in my family tree. The seeds I have planted in my garden and in my life will go on with my perennials and my children. Hopefully, the birdhouses will help the birds continue and I will continue with my serious painting and of course adding colorful birdhouses to the winter gardens.
"Tread the Earth Lightly"
and in the meantime... May your day be filled with....
Peace, Light and Love
Arlene Wright-Correll
This Article has been viewed 772 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Hi Arlene how lovely is your garden, there'e no doubt in what I see that you have green fingers, and also very talented with the way you work with a paintbrush. Thank you for sharingKeep wellKacyThanks Kacy,Just about the time my black thumb turned green I became just about too old to work in the garden. One of life's little quirks!Arlene Wright-Correll
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.