Lifelines

"Lifelines", iPhone image by S'zanne Reynolds

Passing through Fredericksburg, I stopped to take this image Saturday. Regretfully, I didn't have my good SLR with me so I pulled out my iPhone. I loved the shadow cast on the church from the power lines which made a cross over the church's door. Afterwards, I was intrigued by the way the power line to the church seemed to connect to the sky.

The image makes me ponder what really empowers us. Is it man made, nature made or divinely bestowed? Where do we place our power and who do we give our power to? As such basics as fire and water are in extremes in our lives here in Central Texas, it gave me pause to reflect on what our real lifelines are...and how much we each can express the divine source of power, right where we are. We seem to see this with the most clarity in times of disaster. As the Good Books says:

"You're blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule." The Message, Matthew 5:3

Thoughts and prayers go out to the fire fighters, families and individuals struggling with the Central Texas fires...especially those hardest hit in Bastrop. May all your lifelines be strengthened, preserved or restored with love and care.


Marker Detail of Lifelines, iPhone image by S'zanne Reynolds

Fredericksburg B&B Painting Retreat

Green: the color of spring

Not a scene you often remember once the summer heat sets in. Even now our roadways are looking yellow. This place just made me so happy, I had to paint it. I'll show you the painting next time.

A prayer for our oceans and their friends

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air,

and the fish of the sea,

and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

KJV, Psalm 8:4-8

Terrified but Unstoppable

"Sun Setting over Primroses"

Photo © 2010 by S'zanne Reynolds

"Primrose Promises" 9x12" oil on linen
© 2010 by S'zanne Reynolds

"I have been terrified my entire life, and I've never let it keep me
from doing a single thing I wanted!" --Georgia O'Keefe

The above photo was taken last week in Fredericksburg at the Wildseed Farm. The farm had just closed and I stayed outside their gate and painted anyway. My painting's perspective was very different from the worm's eye view the photo was taken from. I was painting standing under a tree's shade, looking through a fence and some cactus, out over a field. And it was a couple hours before the sun set so the lighting was completely different. I wished I had had a couple more easels to paint on 2 or 3 canvases as the light changed, like Monet!

Several folks pulled off the highway to see what I was doing...just when I congratulated myself on having privacy. One old guy even wanted to chat until dinner time! Thankfully no one stopped to critique my work...just to be friendly, and maybe a little curious.