Bye Bye 2014!!

Tags

2015, art, happy new year, hope, hopeful, new year, positive affirmations, positive attitude, positive energy, positive thinking

 

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I am wishing all of my family, friends and fans a very Happy New Year!!  The quote below sums it all up for me.  Leaving it all behind.  Good bye 2014!!

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Not Everyone Has Happy H.O.L.I.D.A.Y.S…

Tags

angel, angels, blue abstract art, blue art, comfort, comforting art, compassion, god, healing, help, hope, prayer, spirituality

“Never Alone”

Painting Acrylic on Canvas

Sharon Cummings

2003

My “Never Alone” painting has always been one of my most popular pieces. It’s true that blue is a soothing color and many people like it, but I believe that it is the sentiment that draws people in.  As I sell a lot of this image around the Holidays, it makes me pause and say a prayer of gratitude for the life I now have.  I also ask for comfort to those who will not be having a “happy” Holiday season.

I know what it is like to have Christmas marred by pain and suffering.  When I was 10 years old, my father killed himself just a few short days before the magical event.  I can still see the carefully wrapped gifts under the tree as we gathered after the funeral.  I remember thinking that I didn’t want anything ever again for Christmas.  For many years the Holidays were just a painful reminder of what was missing and what would never be.  It wasn’t until I had my own child that the joy was brought back to the Season.  Her zeal and delight in all things festive is infectious.  It was her energy that helped heal me.

So for those that mourn loss or those that are hanging on to the sick, I wish that you feel that you are never alone…Whether you believe in God, angels or just the healing energy of others…

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You Are B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L…

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beautiful, beauty, heart, heart art, heart paintings, heart print, hope, love, positive affirmations, positive attitude, positive energy, positive people, positive thinking, self love

“You Are Beautiful”

Mixed Media Painting/Collage

Uplifting Encouraging Art

Sharon Cummings

2014

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Today’s positive affirmation…

Still D.R.E.A.M.I.N.G.?

Tags

alone, alone time, belief, believe, believing, christian, colorful landscape, colorful tree, dream, dreamer, dreaming, encouragement, encouraging, fairy, fairy tales, fairytale, fairytales, faith, feelings, girl, hope, hopeful, inspiration, inspirational, joy, joyful, joyous, kids, kids room, landscape, life, little girl, moon, night, rooms, self reflection, sharon cummings, solitude, soul, spiritual, spirituality, swing, thinking, thoughtful, tire swing, tree, uplifting, women, wondering

“The Dreaming Tree”

Mixed Media Art

Sharon Cummings

2014

I’ve always had a special place to go to dream.  For most of my life, it’s been a special tree.  Everywhere I’ve lived, I had to find one.  I would either climb up into it’s branches or swing from a rope/tire.  Now, I just sit under it’s cooling shade and let myself go….

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C.O.M.F.O.R.T…

Tags

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…

From H.U.M.B.L.E. Beginnings….

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art, Artist, artwork, blessings, blue art, career, career change, contemporary art, eBay, encouragement, faabest, goals, hope, modern art, painting, paintings, sharon cummings, Sleeping Beauty, tampa artist

Since this week has been dedicated to artwork of the past, I thought I’d share a little about the history of my online art sales.  I have always been an artist.  But I have only been creating professionally for about 12 years.  Before my career transition, I was a personal trainer, kick boxing instructor and nutritional consultant.  I enjoyed working with people and inspiring them to make healthy choices in their lives.  It was very rewarding and I had no plans to do anything else.  However, a nasty fall that broke my left foot and a car accident that left my shoulders and neck in disarray provided me with an opportunity to choose something different.  It took my body about 3 months to heal enough to even consider working again, but what happened next proved to be the best healing of all.

When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a writer, but art seemed like a more viable option.  I couldn’t have been more wrong “at the time.”  I signed up for art school with the excitement and delusion of youth.  I worked hard and did well.  With a degree in hand and a few interviews under my belt, I soon realized that there was no money in art “at the time” so I put my dreams on the shelf and pursued other ventures.

It’s funny how a tragedy like a car accident can sometimes lead to something wonderful in your life.  That is exactly what happened to me.  I was broke, disabled and too stubborn to take financial aid.  Then my husband asked me if I could just find a way to make 1000 per month so we could pay our bills.  Personal training was off the table as my body has never been the same since my injuries.  One night while searching the Internet for inexpensive business clothing, I discovered something that I had never even considered.  People were selling their art Online!  I was pumped because I knew it was something I could do with hard work and perseverance.  I had been there and done that already.  So I got that old dream off of the shelf and got going!

This piece above titled “Sleeping Beauty” is the very first painting that I listed for sale Online.  It sold for 75.00 on eBay.  I was hooked!  And I have never looked back……

You can see more of my artwork here:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

Somethin’ About S.U.N.D.A.Y…

Tags

abuse, calm, childhood, church, courage, healing, hope, love, meditation, memories, peace, renewal, sharon cummings, sunday, sunday mornings, worship

When I was a little girl, Sunday mornings were fraught with anxiety and dread. It was a day of worship and family which should have been a rewarding and pleasant time. But when you grow up in a home and culture of abuse, it is anything but. It took me many years to lose my religion and find my spirituality. I am not against the tenets of most of the religions I know. It is the hypocrisy and misuse that is harmful to me. I have many friends who find their religious life enriching and integral to their lives. What a blessing! For me, I had to reclaim Sunday mornings and make them a peaceful time where I can relax, drink tea or read a book and contemplate all of the good in my life. I am thankful for so much! I also enjoy having a nice and calm meal with my husband and daughter. It’s a great day that I have come to look forward to each week.

Sunday….there is just something about it…

Forgiving Our Fathers…..

Tags

Artist, Dad, Daddy, faabest, Family, Father, Father's Day, Fathers, Forgiveness, hope, love, Men, sharon cummings

This is my second Father’s Day without a Dad.  I lost my “Daddy” when I was 10 years old and my “Pop” two Summers ago at age 43.  Both loses have their own particular kind of sting. That’s me in my Daddy’s arms as an infant in the first picture and me in my Pop’s in the later.  As with Father’s Day in the past, forgiveness always comes to the surface.  It isn’t that I have not forgiven these two men for their shortcomings.  Both had many and I have long since come to terms and found peace.  It is more about the fact that without either of them here, forgiveness is something that I can cherish.  It is much easier to celebrate someone’s life and their positive role in yours if you can let go of past hurts.  If you can see them for their humanity.  See the ways that they must have felt pain inside and the ways they tried to make themselves feel better.  I have had to forgive alcoholism, physical abuse, suicide and more. I have had to go beyond my inner child to see theirs.  It took years for me to fully open up and allow their love to move freely through my thoughts and my heart.  But I have and they do.  So today on Father’s Day I want to celebrate love and be thankful for forgiveness which truly has set me free!

A Caged Bird S.I.N.G.S…

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abstract, abstract bird, abstract birds, Angelou, animals, art, artwork, avian, aviary, beach, beach home, beach house, bird, birds, books, canaries, canary, contemporary, contemporary art, contemporary bird, contemporary birds, creativity, dancing, emotional, faabest, Fine Art, freedom, hope, I know why the caged bird sings, Maya, Maya Angelou, modern, modern art, modern bird, modern birds, Music, muted colors, nature, ocean, painting, paintings, pastel, pastel art, pastels, pink, play, prints, sea, sharon cummigns, sharon cummings, sing, singing, songs, tropical, tropical bird, tropical birds, vacation, wall art, work, writing, yellow, yellow bird, yellow birds, yellow canary

 

With the recent passing of Maya Angelou, I was inspired to go through my books and find a few of hers for a reread.  A favorite is “I know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”  It has been said that a caged bird sings because it wants freedom. I’ve had a bird and he sang whenever he was in his cage, but he also sang when he was freely moving around my home.  He sang on my shoulder as he nuzzled my ear. He sang when he was having his bath.   He even sang when he was eating.  In fact, the only time he didn’t sing was at night when I would cloak his cage in darkness.  Only then did all go quiet.  I believe we are all like birds.  We sing because we must.  Whatever your song is be it art, music, writing, cleaning, building things, dancing, speaking, etc. it is something that you MUST do.  A deep yearning within that moves you without thought.   I do not ask myself why I create art.  I simply do it.

Rest In Peace Maya…

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Are You S.I.N.K.I.N.G.?

Tags

abstract, abstract art, angel, angels, blue, blue abstract, blue art, bright green, calm, canvas, cold, contemporary, contemporary art, contrast, earth, earthy, faith, flowing, flowing water, geometrical, god, green, green abstract, green contemporary, green modern, heart, high contrast, hope, huge, huge canvas, large, life, light, light green, lime green, living, love, loving, metaphysical, modern, modern art, mural, mural size, natural, nature, pale green, romantic, snow, spiritual, spring, textural, texture, tranquil, tranquility, warm, white, white art, yoga

 

Life pools around your heart

The buzz of hope

In every vein

Thump

Thump

Thump

A sinking dream

A flailing hand

Swimming

No

Just float.

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