"Princess of Peace"

Princess of Peace                                                                                                           B Upton

I painted "The Princess of Peace" a few years ago for an art show I was curating called "Exposing War and Exploring Endless Peace". I recently decided to make the princess's hair wavy to match my grand daughter's and gave the painting to her on my recent trip to Arizona. She is not three yet, so the bubble wrap was infinitely more interesting than the art! But I hope as she grows older she'll like it and appreciate its message of peace.

The Princess of Peace is one with all life, rooted to the earth, yet also at home with the starry night. She is a harmonious blend of soft and strong, head and heart, and the physical and the spiritual.

Her compassionate gaze tells us that we are perfect in all of our imperfections-that we should not be so hard on ourselves-that at our core we are divine and worthy of all the joy this world has to offer. She also reminds us that each of us has tremendous power to create a more just, sane and loving earth and that power begins when we love and honor the totality of who we are!

That is what I hope my darling grand daughter will see when she looks at her!

I have been standing for peace every Saturday for over ten years with a wonderful group of dedicated peace and justice activists called New Paltz Women in Black. We are part of an international movement of women taking to the streets to say no to war, militarism and violence in all its forms. We wear black for we are mourning all the senseless deaths of war and as a symbol of resistance. Women in Black has been called the largest mobilization for peace in the world! Here is a video I did last summer - "Women in Black in the Hudson Valley and Beyond."



"When we see God in each other, we will be able to live in peace." Mother Theresa

Wishing you a day of peace, love and joy.

Goddess Power!

    Trinity of Self - The Mother, the Daughter and the Holy Spirit                                                 watercolors by B Upton 

                         

I painted these little goddesses for a show I curated in 2001 called, "The Magical Feminine: Celebrating Woman, Her Bliss and Her Erotic Healing Power"! Here is what I wrote then and samples of the many affirmations I wrote for each goddess. The affirmations were wound up like little red roses in three gold boxes that hung under each painting and people were invited to see what the goddess wanted to tell them. Perhaps one of them below, is what you need to hear today too!

The Trinity of Self: The Mother, The Daughter and 

The Holy Spirit

The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost; what impact has this pantheon of maleness had on the developing female psyche? What has been the result of living in a world that has failed to honor the sacredness of the earth, women and female sexuality?  We have been taught a spiritual language that is not our native tongue and which has little resonance with the deepest parts of our feminine selves.

It is my intention that The Trinity of Self: the Mother, The Daughter and the Holy Spirit will speak to your soul. May the silent messages of these Goddesses echo through your days; “Embrace yourself more compassionately. Honor your body and sexuality more lovingly. Trust yourself more completely.”

The Trinity of Self: The Mother

Erotic fire and the power of creation burn at your core. Give life to your most passionate self and to your beloved dreams. Discover your vast starry essence through physical ecstasy. 

Affirmations:  

I am a strong, whole and worthy woman. I value my strengths and accept and learn from my weaknesses.

My love and nurturing ways make this world a better place.

 The Trinity of Self: The Daughter

Nature is our loving teacher. Surrender to the earth and connect  with your strong, instinctual self and natural goodness. 

Affirmations:  

I rest in the natural world and know I belong. Nature revitalizes and strengthens me.

I respect, protect and revere the earth. 

The Trinity of Self: The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit weds heaven and earth and the spiritual and the sexual into one blissful whole. Allow it to enter you and make peace with your body, mind and emotions. It is time to be the  unedited, uninhibited, natural force of healing for self and others you were meant to be!

Affirmations: 

I have awakened to my female power, unique voice and creative life force energy.

I can now forgive the past and be open to the ecstatic moment. 

Solstice Moon Art

Awakening at the Cathedral of the Crooked Tree  2                                                                                                     B Upton

Lunar Eclipse- Seeing the Shadow                                                                                                                               B Upton

One Light                                                                                                              B Upton

Moonlight through the Trees                                                                                                                                          B Upton

 Last night was the shortest night of the year- and now the light returns- a perfect occasion to reflect on your own inner light and to make a conscious choice to allow more of it to shine in the coming year.

The world has never needed us to be more in our power and light than it does now. What amplifies your Light? What helps you to connect to your spiritual essence? Creative expression, meditation, acts of kindness, prayer, being in nature's glory, sharing, learning, building community...there are countless ways to realign with your deepest and wisest self. Thoughts and actions that increase forgiveness, gentleness, openness and compassion increase your vibration and light!

The other day it dawned on me (I can be slow sometimes) that almost all of my paintings contain a white spherical object, or a little moon. I also have taken many photos of the moon, especially the moon at Solstices, eclipses and super moon phases- so it seemed like a natural idea to combine them digitally in Moon Art.

I hope these images draw you in and help you to connect to

your greater depths, inner beauty and remembrance of the holiness of all life.

Happy Solstice, Merry Holidays and

Endless Peace, Unlimited Joy and Unconditional Love to you in the New Year!

Love,

Barbara

Sweet Pansies

 

One of my joyful, Spring rituals is to visit a local farm market and buy some pansies to photograph or paint! I love their bright little faces, swirling graceful petals, brilliant colors and dramatic markings. They seem so fragile yet they are very hardy! After a rain, they seem the perfect symbol of freshness, renewal and new beginnings! The Johnny Jump Ups growing against the rocks (2nd to last) come up every year. I think of them as wild little pansies. I love that they are the first to appear and the last to leave (as I documented here.)  I also like the little white specks on the black centers of the pansies that give a cosmic feel! You feel drawn into their starry depths.

Here is a painting I did a few Springs past. Not pansies, but they seem somewhat related. These flowers are very small and with incredible detail (some of which I left out, out of sheer laziness). A 10 x 10" giclee print on wrapped canvas is available of this painting, for $60 on the Waking Planet site. 

Another Spring Flower                                                                                                   acrylic by B Upton

Hope they all brighten your day! Keep Faith

My Artwork

I will be posting the last two steps to inner peace soon (they are easier and more fun than step five!) but for now here is some of my artwork. More can be seen at Waking Planet.

Blue Angel

Avocados in Winter

Spring Blooms

May you walk in beauty. Beauty before you. Beauty behind you. Beauty above you. Beauty below you. Beauty all around you!