Baby Steps 2…

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babies, baby, baby gift, baby girl, baby nursery, baby shower gift, baby toes, baby's room, Children, custom baby art, cute art, feet, feminine, feminine art, fun art, gender, girl, girl art, girls, girly, happy art, it's a girl, kids, sharon cummings, sharon cummings art, toes

We’ve all taken some baby steps in one way or another…These are delightful in pink!

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Relax And Enjoy….Om

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art, buddhism, calming, design, feminine, inspiration, life, love, meditation, om, religion, soothing, spirituality, yoga

A new Om piece in soft calming colors that would pair nicely with my Kindness yin and yang mandala art.  Add some soothing energy to your space..

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R.E.I.N.C.A.R.N.A.T.I.O.N…

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From this…

To This below…

“Nature’s Chorus”

New Mixed Media Art Painting Based On Old Pen

And Ink Drawings From 25 Years Ago

Sharon Cummings

2014

I am still reincarnating some of my older work into newer pieces.  It’s so much fun to see these old renderings transformed into a brand new piece of art.  When I was sitting hunched over my drafting table all of those years ago painstakingly drawing lines, I had no idea that someday there were be a computer program that would allow me to colorize them using my original paintings.  Really technology rocks!

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C.O.M.F.O.R.T…

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art, bird, birds, black, black and white, christian, christianity, comfort, darkness, dove, doves, etch, etchings, faith, feminine, fertility, friends, friendship, gift, goth, gothic, gothic romance, grace, graceful, heal, healing, health, heart, hearts, hope, light, love, marriage, naive, naive art, new age, night, night and day, peace, peaceful, poem, poetry, pray, prayer, romance, romantic, sharon cummings, spirit, spiritual, symbol, symbolism, union, vintage, wedding, wedding gift, white, white dove

“Comfort”

Screen print from etched acrylic and ink.

Sharon Cummings

Circa 1992

This piece is definitely a one off by me.  It started as an etching on a hard acrylic sheet that was then inked and pressed on a screen press.  I remember the acrylic being very difficult to scratch into.  I still have the block and the original sketch to this piece.  A rare find…

Just S.M.I.L.E.

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arrangement, art, bathroom, beautiful, bedroom, botanical, botanical art, botanical painting, botanical prints, bud, buds, cottage, cottage art, country, country cottage, elegance, elegant, feminine, floral, floral arrangement, flower, flower buds, flowers, garden, gardening, happiness, happy, health, health benefits, healthy living, kitchen, ladies slippers, lady slipper, orchid, orchids, phaphiopedilum, photo, photograph, photography, rich, sharon cummings, smile, smiling, soft, table, traditional, vase, vases, yellow orchid

 

It’s so simple.  Just smile.  Even if you have to look at cute videos on YouTub of babies laughing or puppies sleeping, it’s a great way to improve your health and it makes you feel good about yourself.  Below are some of the rewards of lifting those cheeks:

1.  It Lower Heart Rate – Smiling slows the heart and relaxes the body. People who smile and laugh often are less likely to develop heart disease. Smiling reduces blood pressure temporarily too.

2.  It Reduce Stress – Stress relief may be as simple as smiling a little more throughout the day. Smiling releases endorphins that counteract and diminish the stress hormones.

3.  It Increase Productivity – Smiling has been shown to increase productivity while performing tasks. There’s truth to the “whistle while we work” mentality. This also explains why silly internet memes and pictures of cute animals can actually get people motivated and working harder after a few moments of smiling or laughter.

4.  It is a natural Pain Killer – Smiling and laughter both have been shown to lessen pain. They release endorphins that lift our moods, but many of these act as natural painkillers too.

5.  It Increase Attention – Stress limits our perceptions and narrows our attention. Our body kicks into fight or flight mode where we can focus only on one of those things. Smiling counteracts this and widens our attention again, opening us back up to multitasking and insights that come from the fringes of our perception and our subconscious.

6.  It is Contagious – Around 50% of people smile back. This spreads the health benefits throughout those around you and it comes back to you several times as well.

7.  It makes you more Attractive!  – Smiling makes people look more appealing. This seems to be especially true for women. Men are more likely to approach a woman who smiles than one who simply makes eye contact while women aren’t necessarily drawn in by a smile alone.

8.  It makes You Look Younger – Smiles naturally lift the face and in studies have shown to make people look younger, around 3 years younger on average.

9.  It increases Longevity – The effects of a good smile extend past just the exterior good looks. People who smile more often live longer too, around 7 years longer than most according to one study. It releases stress, helps the heart, and much more to keep you healthy longer.

10.  It Boosts the Immune System – Smiles help the body relax and this lets the immune system react more quickly and effectively against invaders.

So C’mon…………………………………………………..S.M.I.L.E. 🙂

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The Wonder Years….

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Are you trying to hold on to your youth?  Your children?  A dysfunctional family?  A job that isn’t right for you?  A marriage that doesn’t work?  That D you got in trigonometry in high school?

So many of us cling tightly to what is familiar or comfortable.  Others bind themselves to the past and allow it to punish them for their entire lives. Change is scary.  Some just cannot picture a life different than the one they currently have.  I have learned that the harder you grasp something, the more it hurts when it slips away from you.  The secret to life is “letting go”.  Also known as acceptance.  This has nothing to do with giving up and everything to do with knowing when it is time to move on.

I had a few years of uncertainty and fear as I moved into middle age.  I was panicked at the thought of my little girl out in the big mean World all by herself. My marriage had a major hiccup one Summer and I was not sure we would make it.  I noticed that I was starting to lose the interest of men when I walked into a room.  My body and face were aging and I did not know how to handle it. I was also very confused about what I wanted to do with my business.  I considered shutting it down and taking a different path by getting back into Holistic Medicine.  I call those years “the worry years”.

Slowly I started to realize that I could not hold onto all of those things that I wanted to remain the same.  More importantly, I did not want to. I discovered it was safe to let go and just celebrate where I was headed.  I was not only physically different, I was also mentally and emotionally transformed.  At 45 I am now excited to watch my daughter leave for college and blossom into her own life.  I will not be keeping her bedroom as a shrine where I can focus on the past.  Instead it will be converted into a sanctuary for yoga and thinking. She will be welcome to visit anytime, but I will use that space for mediation.  I have learned to work “with” my partner instead of “against” him as we weather life’s bumps.  I am less selfish.  I have also decided that I will not be artificially preserving my youthful face.  It’s gone and no amount of face lifting, injecting or sand blasting is going to bring it back.  It’s o.k. to have wrinkles and fine lines.  In fact, if you allow yourself to let go of what society dictates is beautiful, you can actually admire them for what they really are: signs of a life that has endured numerous storms and celebrated many triumphs.

As for my career that is still being pondered.  I have a few new ideas about what direction I would like to move in. But whatever I decide, the process leading up to it will not be fraught with anxiety.  No, these are truly “the wonder years” for me.  The dictionary tells us that “wonder” means:  a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  And that is exactly where I am.  Bring it on life!

My Petals Are All W.E.T…..

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It’s that time of year when all of the flowers are blooming and these quick little showers show up out of nowhere. My orchids look fabulous this Spring!  I can mostly get phalaenopsis to re-bloom year after year. When I buy some from a store or garden shop, I let them live out their flowering lives in my home.  When they are all done, I just stick them under the oak trees and they love it!  I do not do anything else to them.  I just let nature water and care for them.  The white and hot pink especially like to show their pretty little petals for me.  We just had one of those morning showers that leaves everything all sparkly with water droplets….I couldn’t resist!

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Got Spring Fever?

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Spring has sprung in Florida!  The weather is absolutely perfect.  The azaleas are blooming in glorious hot pink beauty.  The grass is greening up.  Bees are buzzing.  My orchids are budding. And then there is the pollen.  Aaaaaachooo!!  Yup, I get allergies bad this time of the year and that sticky yellow stuff gets in my nose, eyes and lungs and I spend my time indoors or masked. If I venture outside I wear a hat (so it doesn’t get in my hair), a mask and glasses.  I shower before bed and keep my sheets as clean as possible.  It only lasts about a month or so like this, but it is a wait.  What to do?  Create of course!  I love the LOOK of Spring and decided to keep it positive with this fun and whimsical piece today.

This work is a mixed media piece combining some of my Labor of Love paintings with a stock background and graphic elements.  A real joy to put together. 🙂  Enjoy!

 

FOR A LIMITED TIME….Get this new piece for PEANUTS!!  SALE!!  Click the link below:

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=138605

 

Her Heart Has Wings…

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http://fineartamerica.com/featured/her-heart-has-wings-spiritual-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Her Heart Has Wings

Her heart has wings,

for more than flight.

They give her strength.

They give her sight.

Her heart has wings,

battered by the wind.

They do not break.

They help her bend.

Her heart has wings,

that can’t be tied.

And hopes and dreams.

That won’t be denied.

Her heart has wings,

for so much more.

Her body has limits.

But her spirit will soar…

Out Of This World!

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arrangement, art, bathroom, beautiful, bedroom, botanical, botanical art, botanical painting, bud, buds, cottage, cottage art, country, country cottage, elegance, elegant, feminine, floral, floral arrangement, flower, flower buds, flowers, garden, gardening, kitchen, orchid, orchids, phalaenopsis, photo, photograph, photography, rich, sharon cummings, soft, table, traditional, vase, vases, white orchids

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/ethereal-orchid-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I found this beauty at Selby Gardens in Sarasota Florida.  It’s just a phalaenopsis of the more common variety.  But once I got the photo home and did a little magic, I was able to create a ghostly almost ethereal effect.  

A busy day here…..I am going to do another show in March!  But I will keep new work coming when I can. 🙂