Recently I finished a triptych measuring a total of 5’ high by 7 1/2’ wide; the largest painting I have ever created. It is unusual because it is a commission, and in acrylic, a medium I don’t typically use. Furthermore, it is an abstract painting (not typical for me) in three separate sections. The buyer is a friend and collector in Chicago. I enjoyed the process. It began with a mock up created digitally on a computer. I e-mailed them the picture, which they liked, and after we agreed on a price I was given blessings to begin. Acrylics offer many opportunities to create textures and reflections of light that more traditional oils do not. The downside is that they dry very quickly and so cannot be worked “wet on wet.” In the process I strayed from the original concept slightly, but by e-mailing my steps to the client, found that they liked my creative direction. Now, I am about to ship the piece and they are going to have a party after it finds it’s home in their living room.
I have found Internet radio, and it is wonderful. Anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection, I can tune into commercial free streaming music that conforms to my taste and listen while I work or just for relaxing entertainment. By chance, I discovered Pandora.com, which tailors itself to the listener. Simply type in a song or artist, and it creates a radio station that plays music with the attributes you like. Yesterday I was listening to a station I created from a group that my daughter Sarah likes, called Shiny Toy Guns. They play techno trance music. In the mix came a song that caught my attention, so I jotted down the name. It is called Extraordinary Way, by Conjure One. The lyrics are available online and I find them speaking to me now that I am leaving the USA and burning bridges.
Song Text:
What I have is nothing to my name
No property to speak of
And no trophy for my game
Intangible and worthless
My assets on the page
My coffers are empty
Any offer of safety has faded away
But what I have
What I have is
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God, I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have (what I have)
Means so very little to this world
A promise that I kept and a bridge that I saved before it burned
The sacrifice that I made
Brought me to my knees
A choice that cost me everything and set somebody else free
But what I have
Is the value that you see in these things
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have
Is the value that you see in these things
And everytime I forget those things you bring them right back to me
With your patience
When I'm blinding mad
And your passion
When I'm really, really bad
And your eyes
Taking in everything I am
And your body and soul and the way that you know
How I treasure you
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God I'm so lucky
So much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
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