Dreaming the Polar Bear

Last night I had a dream of a polar bear looking deeply into my eyes. There was no aggression or fear attached to the dream.

The polar bear gave me the impression it was trying to communicate something very important, but all I could focus on was the fact that I was looking at a polar bear.

I’ve had previous dreams of black bears mainly because of an encounter with one as a young adult, and as a child I had several dreams of a brown bear chasing me. On the advice of my mother, I made friends with it and the dreams stopped. Otherwise my bear dreams have been mostly positive.

I was told that dreams of bears may represent our need to attune ourselves with the energies of the earth, helping us heal the imbalances within our bodies and spirit. To look within ourselves for the answers we seek and embrace the cycle of life, death and renewal, which is easier said than done.

Here is a sketch of the polar bear from my dream.

Bear, Owl & Wolf Sketches

The Legend of the Scarecrow

The Legend of the Scarecrow by Carlos Lascano is an incredibly beautiful short film. It is a poignant film of how the life of a scarecrow changes when he decides to become friends with the birds. You can see more of his short films on Vimeo.

The Legend of the Scarecrow from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Another Hot Day

We are having another hot day, along with a lot of smoke from the fires burning here in Northern California. My heart and prayers go out to all those people affected by these fires.

Whispering Wings – Combined Media – 6 X 10 inches

Sorry the image doesn’t show the detail of the hummingbird very well.

“Long ago the trees thought they were people. Long ago the mountains thought they were people. Long ago the animals thought they were people. Someday they will say… long ago the humans thought they were people.”

– Native story teller.

The Dog Days Of Summer

We’ve had some really hot weather so I’ve been staying indoors trying to keep cool. Working steadily on some sketches and ideas for new projects.

The other night I dreamed of a beautiful blue butterfly which flew over my head and landed on my outstretched hand. So beautiful! I’ve done a few butterfly sketches but nothing that really captures the essence of the dream.

Sunflower #2

Pomegranate Creatures

Over the weekend I came up with this idea of painting pomegranate creatures. Sound weird? It all started as I was washing dishes. On the kitchen windowsill were these dried pomegranates I had picked from our tree last year.

The more I observed them the more they looked like the wizened faces of some magical tree creatures.The tree is around 75 years old, and in the summertime I spend a great deal of time daydreaming beneath it’s branches.

So I thought what a wonderful idea, pomegranate creatures which live in the trees and once a year they leave their home to walk among humans.

I ended up writing two fantasy short stories about pomegranate trees. They came to me completely fleshed out as if I were watching a movie. It was a very strange and wonderfully unexpected experience!

Pomegranate Creature # 1 – Combined Media – 12 X 12 inches