Look.

There will always be things
that take you away from what matters.

The dishwasher that breaks and the gutters
that need cleaning.

But they are not your life
unless you let them be

Your life is this moment you’re
reading this

Your life is the moment you wake up
and how do you feel?

Your LIFE is every moment in between
anything you have to DO

In the end
none of the doing matters

What matters
is how others feel with you
what matters

Is how much you’ve been able to appreciate

Being alive.

We get distracted by so many things

By many stories

But don’t we all sigh at a baby

Seeing that pure wonder

At my deathbed I doubt seriously I’ll think about my poems

Or my job

Or my business

Or my paintings

I think

I’ll think about love and you

I’ll think about air and light and movement

And how all my senses

Became me

Made me.

This lessens NONE

Of the doing

Let the doing be fun and instructive

Let the doing

Support what becomes me.

On my deathbed

I’ll say ‘look’

Here I am.

I’ve created a Zazzle store for placing my art on select products. Its fun to offer my images this way, there are coasters and mugs available; hope you enjoy 😉

http://www.zazzle.com/artbykara

If you’d like to see more products please let me know, I’m curious!

This as yet untitled poem of mine made me ponder, is this why I paint? Because I am compelled to express, and one way or the other, I will?

oh to try less

to let those experiences the mind can’t possibly tap

with words

be in you gloriously silent

and alive

Paintings aren’t silent, at least not to me… but they do speak from a different place…..

Oh, I know nothing much and so many things.
I am not young, I am not old;
I am living in amazement.

I have no idea if others can see beyond routine this sheer joy .

Born of a particular time, privileged to have been poor and rich; to
Have suffered and triumphed, because in that – true richness is
Attained. If we let it

If we let it be.  And more

If we furiously, happily and famously forge ahead
Each time- saying yes
To the sighs and the yearning and the giddy exaltation of living.

When I’ve been away from painting for awhile, as I have been lately (helping move my favorite non-profit, The Curious Forge) I begin to feel as though I’m on a boat that’s drifted far out to sea.

And I begin to want to see shore again. When I paint, I feel like I can see the shore and all is well.

I’ve wondered if it means I’m ‘more’ of an artist if I keep that shore in sight…. but I’m not so sure. Everything I experience becomes part of whatever art I create, so I suspect those times far away from shore are rather vital for me. It’s like breathing different air… I come back refreshed, energized, excited about what was discovered and wanting to, yet again, do my part in expressing it.

It’s so often the juxtaposition of things that inspire me, and compel me to express. In this case, painting and not painting. The ebb and flow of activity, of feelings, of situations, relationships.. all the things we bump up against in any given day, week, month, year. I live, I express, I live, I express – expressing while I live and living while expressing – I love the tumble of it all!

Today I head towards shore again, and as always, will do my best to pay attention.

“Skiathos, Greece” (prints available)

There is an exquisite

Tension

Between the call of the road

And the richness of staying here.

I’m a horse at the gate

Straining

And the one pasturing

Tranquil and still.

In depth I find wideness

In width oneness

I am in love with contrast

    And seek embrace

       At every turn

I began doing Home Portraits a few years ago. It’s such a special experience to see a home come even more alive in a painting, and I really love talking with people about their homes, what’s unique or meaningful for them, or simply to share their memories and hopes. 

This is the photo of the home:

And this is my parent’s home – a gift to them 😉

All inquiries for commissions welcome! 😉

 Completed the work in progress….

“Hunched Over our Possibilities”  11″x14″  $135

Setting up shop!

I have a new Etsy Store (KaraAsilanis), check it out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KaraAsilanis?ref=shop_sugg

A foray into the virtual world although really its pretty physical since there are human beings all connected this way.. how do my paintings and the people that love them find each other after all – doing what I can to facilitate this 😉

And a merry matchmaking it is!

Work in Progress:

I’ve returned to a favorite subject of mine recently… Greece. This work in progress is from the island of Santorini:

I tend to paint the sky last in painting landscapes or architecture, and for me the sky can make all the difference in whether a painting ‘works’ for me…. I rarely have an idea of how I’ll paint it until I’m doing it and I like that, it somehow brings the whole piece together. Stay tuned….