Soft Yet Strong…

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art, Colorful Art, green, green art, green mandala, mandala, mandala art, mandalas, meditation room, modern art, pastel, pastel art, pastels, sacred mandala, sacred mandalas, sharon cummings art, soft, soft art, soft colors, soft orange, soft yellow, softness, yoga art, yoga studio art, yoga studio decor, zen, zen art, zen meditation

Soft colors create a bold impact in this healing mandala art.

SEE MORE HERE!

I’ve Got Your B.A.C.K…

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africa, african, african theme, animal, animal prints, animals, anniversary, baby, birthday, child, Children, colorful, colorful giraffe, cute, engagement, friend, friends, friendship, fun, gentle, gift, giraffe, giraffes, hide, inspirational, love, loving, maternal, mom, mother, mothering, nature, nursery, play, romance, romantic, safari, sharon cummings, sister, sisters, skin, skins, soft, spots, sweet, tender, wedding, wild animal, zoo, zoo animal, zoo animals

“I’ve Got Your Back”

New Mixed Media Art

Sharon Cummings

2014

Whose got your back?  In my lifetime, I’ve heard the words many times, but have learned that only a precious few have actually meant it.  I can count on my fingers the friends and family that have truly been there for me through thick and thin.  Today I solute them and am thankful that I only have ONE back. 😉

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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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What ARE These?

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botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, macro, macro photo, macro photography, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, sharon cummings, soft, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow

 

I like to walk around with my camera just seeing what I can find.  I love old buildings and garbage piles because often the most interesting photos are there.  These beauties were growing proud all along an abandoned restaurant. They were not in neat little rows, but wild and rangy. They were large flowers, so I do not think they are weeds.

Do you know what type of flowers these are?

My Petals Are All W.E.T…..

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arrangement, art, bathroom, beautiful, bedroom, botanical, botanical art, botanical painting, bud, buds, cottage, cottage art, country, country cottage, dew, dew drops, droplets, elegance, elegant, feminine, floral, floral arrangement, flower, flower buds, flowers, fuschia orchid, garden, gardening, hot pink orchid, kitchen, orchid, orchids, phalaenopsis, photo, photograph, photography, purple orchid, rain, rain drops, rich, sharon cummings, soft, table, traditional, vase, vases

 

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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P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.

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abstract, acupuncture, art, artwork, block, blocks, chiropractic, contemporary, deep, depth, dream, dreaming, dreams, energetic, energy, enlightenment, hatha yoga, heal, healing, health, joy, life, light, meditate, meditation, modern, negative people, nirvana, optimist, paintings, pessimist, positive people, prints, red, sharon cummings, soft, spa, spiritual, spiritual art, spirituality, square, style, vibrant, vision, visionary, wall art, wall decor, wall hangings, yoga, zen

 

I bet you were surprised to see that as my title.  I am normally an upbeat energetic life loving artist.  I still am. But, I have problems just like everyone else.  I have health concerns, a teenager, animals in my care, a marriage, family struggles, financial worries sometimes and the list goes on.

I have learned by and large that there are two types of people on the Internet. Those who focus on all of life’s crap and negative things in the world.  And those that zero in on the good in people and the beauty of our world. Very few are in the middle.  I see the news.  I know about pain and suffering.  My life certainly has it’s share, but a long time ago, I decided that I wanted to be in the second camp.  The experts call this being an “optimist”.  I just call it self preservation.  I choose every single day to “live in the moment” and focus on positive energy.  This works for me and keeps me on a track that makes me happy on most days.  Not every day.  But most. I am satisfied with that. 🙂

If my artwork can take you away from your problems, even for a moment, that also brings me great joy!  And in that very life affirming feeling lies my purpose: to bring joy to the World.

 

 

 

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N.I.R.V.A.N.A.

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abstract, acupuncture, art, artwork, block, blocks, chiropractic, contemporary, deep, depth, dream, dreaming, dreams, energetic, energy, enlightenment, hatha yoga, heal, healing, health, light, meditate, meditation, modern, nirvana, paintings, prints, red, sharon cummings, soft, spa, spiritual, spiritual art, spirituality, square, style, vibrant, vision, visionary, wall art, wall decor, wall hangings, yoga, zen

 

Nirvana

The grasping

letting go power

stillness.

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Gettin’ W.I.L.D.

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botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, lavender, macro, macro photo, macro photography, mother nature, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, purple, sharon cummings, soft, stamen, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow

Wildflowers that is.

It’s Spring here in Florida and all of the beautiful flowers are in full bloom.  We went out on a photo shoot this weekend and there were so many to choose from.  Hibiscus and bougainvillea were plentiful.  And the stargazer lilies were absolutely stunning!  But as I was snapping away, I realized with a macro lens I can find beauty far beyond the typical floral fare.  So I got on my hands and knees and started looking at the plants and flowers along the raggedy fences. The little “weeds” and scrubs had my full attention for the day. I was absolutely amazed at the beauty I found in these things we normally mow down and look over.  It’s another world of magnificence!

The lavender specimen above revealed to me the most delicate purple hairs with dancing bursts of yellow rimmed in black. Seriously WILD!  The yellow soft surprise below opened it’s inner world to me with a show of orange and delicate veins.

Nature: I bow to you in even your seeming insignificance.  I no longer see “weeds” in my garden. 🙂

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What Makes You Vital?

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abstract, acupuncture, art, artwork, block, blocks, brown, burnt orange, chiropractic, contemporary, deep, depth, dream, dreaming, dreams, earth tone, earthy, energetic, energy, enlightenment, hatha yoga, heal, healing, health, light, meditate, meditation, modern, paintings, prints, sharon cummings, soft, spa, spiritual, spiritual art, spirituality, square, steel, steel blue, style, vibrant, vision, visionary, vitality, wall art, wall decor, wall hangings, yoga, zen

There are several definitions for the word “vitality”.  My favorite is the capacity for the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence.  So the question is where does this “drive” come from?  For me it comes from several places. There is a pure satisfaction in creating artwork that I know will bring happiness to other people. That keeps me going.  But I also have a need to earn a living to pay my bills so I can eat.  The former gives my life purpose and the later is necessary for motivation. At 45 I feel more “vitality” now than I ever have.  It’s funny how in the first half of your life you have a lot of energy but less focus.

Enjoy my latest in my Transforming Energy series titled “Vitality”.

Do You Believe In Eternity?

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abstract expression, abstract expressionism, abstract impression, abstract impression of horizon, abstract impressionism, acrylic seascape, beach, beach house, beachy, big, blue, caribbean, hawaii, home, horizon, large, light blue, lightblue, maize, minimal, minimalism, ocean, pastel, poem, poetry, sea, seascape, serenity, sharon cummings, simple, sky, soft, soft blue, soft yellow, summer, swim, swimming, tobago, turquoise, vacation, wall art, wall decor, wall hangings, water, yellow, yellow and blue

Eternal blue

horizon’s light

calming the sea

ocean of my soul

winter

dawn

moving forward

into a knowing heart.

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Blue Eternity