Approaching Christmas with childlike, wide eyed wonder……..

Yesterday I was on the bus returning home from Kingston upon Thames.     Most people were carrying large shopping bags and looking pretty exhausted and fed up…..and then quite spontaneously three little children began to sing Christmas carols….and everyone smiled and began to talk to one another.   Everyone’s mood changed…………

watercolour/gouacheIt”s so easy to get caught up in all the adult stuff.       I remember very well when my own children were young and being responsible for putting on Christmas celebrations with all the trimmings.     Quite often, the real meaning and essence of the celebration was lost,

It would seem that for the most part we humans insist on making life complicated and in doing so forget the pure joy of simple pleasures.

Millie visiting my studio and being caught up in all the colour and magic. Capucine – a little girl I painted in France this year.    Her eyes were filled with wonder and curiosity  

Look at the amazement and curiosity in the eyes of these little Amish boys who had come across a field camera his week in Pennsylvania.      They had no idea what it was or what the flashing light indicated….but were clearly amazed and filled with wonder.    (My son sent me this picture from a friend’s farm). As adults we don’t have to give up our childlike ways – in fact I believe that a fully integrated person is capable of being both an adult and a child.    The child-like wonder that still lives within us is what keeps us filled with the promise of the unexpected, the spontaneous.

dancing hummingbirds – symbolising the unseen magic in our world……watercolourIt would seem that it is the simple elements of life that give us all great pleasure.     Singing, dancing, giving to those in need, being part of a community and laughter….and of course a simple smile can change the day for so many people.  

Christmas decorations at Hampton Court Palace.  I hope that everyone enjoys a Christmas with elements of spontaneity and joy and of course some really good food:)

I will spend the holidays with friends and then my daughter Christie arrives from the USA on the 27th December and will be here with me to celebrate the new years.    What a gift.

May magical hummingbirds surround us all.    

A bientot

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

 

 

 

Light and airy for June 1st.

Something light and airy for June 1st. 

watercolour

Hummingbirds symbolise for me, unseen magic.      

As they seemingly float free of time from one blossom to another, they are a reminder of all the beauty in our world.

Like flying jewels they move before us in a flash ……

There but not there……an incandescent nanosecond of light. 

The hummingbird competes with the stillness of the air…..Chogyam Trungpa

A Bientôt

Happy hummingbird weekend

When I am feeling tired or anxious, I imagine myself in nature surrounded by magical hummingbirds.       I hear the humming of their wings and allow the images to sooth and restore.

They remind me of our interconnectedness and of unseen magic.

In our fast paced material world, the hummingbird reminds me of the exquisite complexity of Nature.

‘An image reflected in a mirror, a rainbow in the sky, and a painted scene make their impressions upon the mind, but in essence are other than what they seem.   Look deeply at the world, and see an illusion, a magician’s dream.’

The Seventh Dali Lama:  Song of the Immaculate Path”

A Bientot

Magical Hummingbirds

From tomorrow, 20th September, my little book Magical Hummingbirds will be available through the products page on my website http//www.janetweightreed.co.uk

Through the illustrations and words, I hope to convey the seen and unseen magic that these tiny flying jewels bring to our world.

Since the mid eighties, when I began my Rock and Nude series,  (see Current Work on my website) I have been producing paintings that speak of the interconnectedness of all life and matter.

In 1990, I started to incorporate hummingbirds into my work.    In this large mural (oil on board) painted for an architect’s building in the United States, I first used the hummingbird as a symbolic image.

In the year 2000, when I began work on the children’s book ‘Cristeve the Cat Finds Her Home’ – I used hummingbird imagery to teach children to trust in the unseen help in our world.

In this image, Cristeve the Cat and the Tiger are guided by a hummingbird. 

In our fast paced, materialistic world we tend to focus on the perceived power of humankind.

The tiny hummingbird with its ability to fly forwards, sideways, backwards, up, down, and hover in mid air,  which are only some of its remarkable attributes, demonstrate to us that we can learn so much more from Mother Nature.

Many ancient peoples believed that hummingbirds were messengers between the worlds, symbolising eternity, continuity and infinity.

In my most recent painting a 5′ x 4′ oil on canvas, I have pulled from all the different elements of my life as an artist, to express once again the interconnectedness of our world.    Note the hummingbirds, and yes the painting is now completed.

On the 26th September, I will fly to Boston for a long weekend with my daughter and then to Atlanta to paint watercolour portraits and enjoy the wedding of a young woman who I have known since birth.    Happy days:)

I will be back here the week beginning Monday 14th October, when I will write my next blog about the trip.

A Bientôt

Colourful hummingbirds by Janet Weight Reed

I have been writing a blog for five years with a different server, but after many technical difficulties, I have decided to move here. 

As a working artist for forty years, I am known for my love of colour and spontaneous painting.  http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk      

Along with writing about my life as an artist, I will also post images that I am currently working on and occasionally watercolour tutorials.

Hummingbirds have always symbolised for me the ‘unseen magic’ in our world, and so for my first post I am offering several hummers.

 

 

I saw my first hummingbird in the mountains of North Carolina in 1968, and ever since have been in awe for these flying jewels. 

I paint other subject and have a particular love for portrait painting, however, it seems fitting that I should start this new blog with hummingbirds. 

 

A Bientôt