I went on quite a ‘mythical adventure’ gathering all the reference material and elements that were given to me as 'possible inclusions’ for this commissioned painting. It was graciously requested as a special surprise for my friend’s husband. It was still a professional project and we treated it that way, a detailed brief was sent to me, with an understanding that I’d ‘do what I was led to do in regards to the composition. I have never had such a long list of inclusions to consider before: trees, rocks, mountain, classical music, geologist’s boots or estwing hammer, specific mythical stories and scence fiction novels, a love of cats, cycling and mountain climbing, along with several favourite authors and the NZ Kea (alpine parrot) - I had my (quite tricky but fun) work cut out for me.

Curiously though . . . once I had images of most of the inclusions . . . the composition came to me relatively easily. It’s got almost an ‘art journal - mixed media’ kind of feel to it, with illustrated elements in all kinds of sizes… I LOVE it when you don’t have to be realistic. ​

I really loved adding in all the details, the Kea sitting there greeting the adventurer as he begins his trek.
Both the giver and receiver of this artwork were readying to do a big walk up Avalance Peak, in the South Island of New Zealand.

It is really an honour and a joy to be asked to create a painting of such personal meaning as this. It was a wonderful feeling to finish it and have it be very happily received and hanging proudly in the new owner’s home.


Walking the creative path with you,
Denise x

Following the directions given me via email, my sister Tricia and I headed all the way to the end of Longacre Road to find a gateway that had a beautiful mosaic picture of a donkey on our left and a sign clearly saying THIS WAY on our right....  So, up the driveway we went and found a hilltop home overlooking fields of green and a large paddock with several handsome chestnut and chocolate brown rather tall, horses... and 4 dear little donkeys. My heart leapt at the sight of the sweet things I’d first seen on facebook, skipping through the forest on a walk with their owner Pauline.

Warm fuzzy welcomes were made and excited faces and embraces as I met in person Pauline, a lady I’d only met online a few short months earlier via a workshop called ‘Get Out of Your Own Way - to Clarity of Purpose.' My sister Tricia was with me and we met Ting Ting who was visiting from Beijing as well as Blue, Pauline’s lovely husband.

I love how we can meet kindred Souls on the path this way. We enter a virtual classroom together and can end up friends in the wide open world outside for real, and encompassing and integrating the new/knew thoughts learned.

We shared a pot of ‘black gumboot tea’ which simply means good old black tea that comes quite strong and may be commonly called English Breakfast Tea at your local cafe. One of life’s simple pleasures is teatime shared with friends old and new.

Soon after our round table connection, off we went to meet the donkeys. Oh the joy. I’d purchased a bag of very large carrots enroute as gifts for our new long eared friends so we took them with us as chunky chopped up pieces and they were received enthusiastically by Donald, Sparky, Roma and Chippy, their crunching sounds made us giggle. It’s so great to have good teeth! I thought to myself.

Feeding and feeling into the energy of these compact likeable creatures was absolutely a pleasure. I’ve not had a lot to do with horses in my life and was a little scared of them but these miniature donkeys touched my heart and reached in to my inner child at once.
Perhaps it’s their size, they don’t tower over you as a race horse might, they reminded me of the biblical story of a donkey taking Mary to shelter to have her baby.

Getting to pat them and talk to them and see the way they come in close it feels so nurturing and an instant acceptance of possibility that love will be shared here, how can it not? I rubbed a spot behind Chippy’s ear, it stood up straight pointing to the sky as the other one stayed down and he put his head down against my legs making me feel so close to him, I suspect he was very much enjoying a little wind break my body was providing by blocking the wild west wind that was blowing on our arrival.

I sometimes feel unsettled on a very windy day, believing there’s too much ‘chi’ but curiously that didn’t seem to bother me this day as I had delightful distractions of meeting Pauline, Blue and their friend Ting Ting and also the field of green with a stunning herd of horses and four extremely cute miniature donkeys. ​

I was introduced to the 'Inner Map' by Julia Colwell, she explained how we experience our feelings going above and below this 'line' many many times a day.
The idea is that when we are below the 'line' we are in what is called Reactive Brain . . . and it is not usually the best place to make good decisions from.

Sadly . . . I notice, I am experiencing me pushing against me.

Below the line are feelings and beliefs around scarcity, competition and narrow focus, it's quite painful to be there. 
I've been in a cycle of 'growth' and 'stuff' lately... and so the feelings below the line have become a lot more familiar than the ones above.

How to move above the line?
With self compassion and kindness, . . . what if I just give up the need to struggle about it . . . and take some calming, centring breaths.
Coming back inward, gently tenderly, acknowledging the feeling,
I see you,
I feel you
​. . . and let it transform. 

Truly... it's flippin hard being a human sometimes.  Waving to you there and wishing for you a moment of deep kindness and compassion, and may it continuously grow like a beautiful garden in spring.

Denise x

p.s. . . . and I know it can change quite quickly . . .

Allowing inner alchemy. Yes... this is the invitation for April and beyond. 

It feels like it's taking me an inordinate amount of time to figure out the feelings thing... but when I simply allow them to be here . . . and FEEL them... they can surprise me by changing... quite quickly.
​
​But it's tricky... it seems they want to be felt for their true self first... then they're willing to release their grip.

Sometimes feelings are a little messy and hard to manage, but pressing them back down inside makes for a rather compressed state. 

Consistently inspired by Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy I hear her words and sometimes see pictures to go with them.
​SARK's website.  ​http://planetsark.com/

Denise x