A few years ago, we rented the most beautiful home on the ocean front. A short stoll across the lawn and we could walk down the front stairs, onto a board walk that took us straight onto the beach. It was heaven on earth - for us anyway. We could wander into the heart of town along the beach and go to cafes, our favourite Thai restaurant, to watch the local rugby side play or have a champagne on the pub deck - also overlooking the ocean. We could take our dog for a walk on the beach with us, it was before 'outatowners with money' moved in to complain about the dogs walking there. Many of the local dogs took themselves for walks along the beach, and everyone knew everyone else, and kept an eye out for the dogs, or the kids who were surfing on their own. It was the first real community that we had belonged to, and we loved it.
Ocean view from our yard.
Little Oney on Table One
Table one is where we meditated early in the morning. We would watch the sun peeking out on the horizon and send it's glimmering light trails along the waves to our house... somehow living in this place, it was so easy to meditate there. It was also easy to drink tea and have our breakfast at Table one, or have a glass of wine at sunset.
Early mornings we would get up with the sunrise and take our dogs for a wander down the beach before work. Lately I've been wanting to move back there, so I've been painting my vision and some of my memories of that wonderful home. Here's one underway...
My current painting in process - I found an old photo of myself years ago wearing a bikini that I loved. So I've combined that bikini with the place that I loved to live in, of course with the white dog always at my side... Lulu lives at Lennox Head.
One of the teachers I trained with encouraged students to take photos of our art as we paint, I enjoy flicking back through the folder and watch the process. I've changed my art space while painting this artwork, I've moved downstairs into the room that adjoins the garden. This afternoon there were birds having a great play in the bird bath and splashing about madly. White cockatoos flew and landed on the eucalyptus trees and kangaroos rested at the fence. It was quite lovely.
