Robyn Sand Anderson Art
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ART[food] for Thought: March 21, 2017

3/21/2017

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Picture

Acrylic on Gallery-Stretched Canvas, 12 x 12". Ready to hang!

I've been adding words to some of my Painting-A-Day paintings now for several weeks, calling it ART[food] for Thought. It's been good for my soul to walk by the words added to these abstract paintings, which remind me to "Fear Not", "Breathe", and "Hope". 

My husband and I have been making an attempt to live more simply since we moved a year and a half ago. We downsized to see what it would be like. It necessitated letting go of stuff. Some things were hard to let go of, like my mother's favorite chair. I thought I could but I couldn't, not yet anyway. But other things were easier. If there was some sentimental value, but it was just sitting in a box somewhere, we'd take a picture of it to remember it, which is the point really. It has been a good process. We are not finished.

How do you live generously? That could mean being generous with your time, your money, your smile, your laughter, your listening...your heart. Care deeply. Well, I'd like to think that I do, but I have to admit sometimes I decide not to care about something when it takes too much out of me. Sometimes that can be a healthy thing, but it can also be a way to escape and not deal with something. So, what would it mean to intentionally care deeply? Speak kindly. That's a constant challenge, isn't it? I do pretty well when it comes to strangers and acquaintances, even good friends. But what about those who are closest to you? It seems like it is easier to lapse on this one, when your spouse does the same thing over and over after you've mentioned it bugs you.  Sometimes I fail the most on this one, with the people I love the most. Makes no sense. I'm working on it. These words keep me mindful of taking the high road.


If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget. It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of  your choice. Thanks! $100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.


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ART[food] for Thought: March 20, 2017

3/20/2017

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Picture

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12 x 12". Ready to hang!

Do I miss snow? Well, maybe. I do love that first snow. This year we've had a "first snow" over and over with green grass in between. There is something uniquely beautiful when you get a fresh snow that covers up the gray, brown and in some cases green landscape. It simplifies the landscape for us, which gives a feeling of restfulness and peace. It is visually calming. We have such frenetic lives. We are constantly bombarded with visual stimuli and eventually, though we may not realize it, it gives us a feeling of agitation. We may not be conscious of it. I think that is why I find those first snow blankets so beautiful. This painting was first posted on December 2nd and had little snow. Just the first flakes blowing in on the wind. Today's painting was what I had in mind when I started.

This painting includes metallic gold, similar to gold-leaf but painted on. If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget. It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of  your choice. Thanks! $100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.


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ART[food] for Thought: March 15, 2017

3/15/2017

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Picture

Acrylic on Gallery-Stretched Canvas, 12 x 12". Ready to hang!

Today I ran across this quote from a Facebook friend. “No sermon on love can fail to mention love's most difficult problem in our time--how to find effective ways to alleviate the massive suffering of humanity at home and abroad. What we need to realize is that to love effectively we must act collectively...”
― William Sloane Coffin

I agree with him and I don't. We do need to act collectively but we can also act on a personal level with those who cross our path. It made me think about choices. We must choose on a daily basis to act. To act in love and mercy toward those we see that are in distress, who look like they are having a bad day, who have never had a reason to trust anyone, who have never heard a kind word, who have never been told "I'm sorry." These are simple choices, but profound. They are deliberate choices until they become who you are.

One must be mindful. One must really "see" people, especially those who are "invisible." One must take time to listen, even when you heard it before. These are gifts we can give people, but it is a choice. Choose love. Choose mercy. Be kind. I will try to live this mantra. If you join me, we can change the world. We can act collectively.

This painting has SOLD.


This painting includes metallic gold, similar to gold-leaf but painted on. If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget. It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of  your choice. Thanks! $100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.


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ART[food} for Thought: March 10th, 2017

3/10/2017

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Picture

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12". Ready to hang!



Do you ever forget to breathe? Every once in a while I become aware of my breathing and notice that it is very shallow, usually when I am stressed. For instance, right now, as I try to get this posted by a certain time deadline on a Friday. Last night on PBS a family practice doc was doing a program on the best ways to be healthy and avoid illnesses. You know the drill, good food, exercise, meditation, etc. He started out with the benefits of deep breathing, specifically belly breathing. When you put your hand on your belly and your chest and breathe in deeply which expands? Deep belly breathing is the one that changes your brain and nervous system for the better. I learned  this routine from a meditation class...do a 4-count of deep belly inhale, then hold it for 7, then breathe out through pursed lips for 8 counts. Do this several times. It re-sets and calms  your fight or flight instinct when stressed. I've tried it and it helps.

The reason I thought of this word today is that in addition to our own daily, personal stresses many of us are feeling very stressed national and global issues. I've been walking back and forth in my house past this painting and I check. Breathe, I tell myself and run through some deep belly inhalations. Oxygen to the brain. It helps with creative problem-solving, which I believe we will be needing for a while.

This painting has an underpainting of yellows, greens and magenta. It is covered by a thin, layer of metallic gold and highlighted with white.


This painting includes metallic gold, similar to gold-leaf but painted on. If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget. It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of  your choice. Thanks! $100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.


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ART[food] for Thought: March 8, 2017

3/8/2017

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Picture

Acrylic on Gallery-Stretched Canvas, 12x12". Ready to hang!

I was diagnosed with a chronic illness about nine years ago and I found myself having to do something new, just to get through the day. I call it re-framing. I did a large painting on that subject a few years ago, you can find it under the Exhibits tab, The Suffering of Becoming. I was living in a new reality. All of my norms, my structures, my ideas about how my life would be were suddenly changed. We humans don't do so well with change, but what is life but constant change? We are constantly readjusting to what is coming at us. Sometimes we do that well, sometimes, not so much. What I learned through those first years A.D. (after diagnosis) was that in order to not fall into the "slough of Despond" as my husband puts it, I had to re-frame how I looked at my day. The only way I could get through it, because there was a lot of pain, fatigue and weakness involved, was to plant my sights on one thing. One thing that was a positive. One thing that was a ray of light. One thing that would keep my nose above water.

Find the good in each day. I think I learned that from my mother. That's how she lived her life. She always looked to the Good, both in people and in her day, even when hard things came up. It wasn't that she didn't feel the hard stuff. It was that she always looked for the Good in spite of the hard stuff. I am again in need of practicing this daily ritual as I look out at our political landscape. We can choose where we will dwell, in the darkness or the light. Sometimes all it takes is remembering to look for the Good in your day.


This painting includes metallic gold, similar to gold-leaf but painted on. If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget. It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of  your choice. Thanks! $100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.
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