An invitation to the opening of my exhibition in Leiden Netherlands

I am delighted to announce to all my faithful followers and visitors of the WordPress community the opening of my solo exhibition in Leiden Netherlands at the gallery Zône. Nieuwestraat 17b.
Come along with family and friends and discover my works for the first time, the entrance is free and there will be beverages and snacks for the occasion.
The opening will be on the 2nd of July from 2pm to 4pm and the paintings will be exposed during the whole month of July.
Leiden is a charming Dutch touristic city that you can put on your list for this summer.
To quote the first two paragraphs of Wikipedia…
Leiden (/ˈlaɪdən/; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɛi̯.də(n)] (About this sound listen); in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 122,915, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with its suburbs Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude with 206,647 inhabitants. The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) further includes Katwijk in the agglomeration which makes the total population of the Leiden urban agglomeration 270,879, and in the larger Leiden urban area also Teylingen, Noordwijk, and Noordwijkerhout are included with in total 348,868 inhabitants. Leiden is located on the Oude Rijn, at a distance of some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from The Hague to its south and some 40 km (25 mi) from Amsterdam to its north. The recreational area of the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) lies just to the northeast of Leiden.
A university city since 1575, Leiden houses Leiden University, the oldest university of the Netherlands, and Leiden University Medical Center. Leiden is a city with a rich cultural heritage, not only in science, but also in the arts. One of the world’s most famous painters, Rembrandt, was born and educated in Leiden. Other famous Leiden painters include Lucas van Leyden, Jan van Goyen and Jan van Steen. The city has been one of Europe’s most prominent scientific centres for more than four centuries. Modern scientific medical research and teaching started in the early 18th century in Leiden with Boerhaave. Many important scientific discoveries have been made here, giving rise to Leiden’s motto: ‘City of Discoveries’.
Leiden University is one of Europe’s top universities, it boasts thirteen Nobel Prize winners, it is a member of the League of European Research Universities and positioned highly in all international academic rankings. It is twinned with Oxford, the location of the United Kingdom’s oldest university. Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences (Leidse Hogeschool) together have around 35,000 students. Leiden is a typical university city, university buildings are scattered throughout the city and the many students from all over the world give the city a bustling, vivid and international atmosphere.

For orders please contact life_paintings@hotmail.com

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Fireworks continuation…

Fireworks

Leonardo da Vinci said…
“Art is never finished only abandoned” so in all good tradition this is the continuation & close ups of… Fireworks.
Notice the constellations, the stars in the dark night’s background…
Up for sale. Linen canvas 100/120 cm.
This painting is kind of magical, it reflects the continual changes of daylight…
For orders please contact life_paintings@hotmail.com

Fireworks

Fireworks

Fireworks

Fireworks

Fireworks

The Clean slate- Prose- May 1993- Readjusted on January 2013

Giverny 2011
©copyright2013owpp

Clean slate
————

He turns
In despair
Facing the sky
Not knowing why

Asking for,
Intelligence
To read
The signals

Take care
Rest his soul
Abandon
The fear

Control
The changes
The unknown
Till where

How far
It will go
Understand
The wandering

Misunderstand
What appears
To be evil
Lose harshness

To the abyss
Love with
His heart
Not blabber

Tell them, listen
Validate
His own.
Erasing

Invalidity
Wanting
The energy
Long forgotten

Sucked
In a porthole.
Concentrate
On the finer

Larger, fitter
Worthier.
Feeling
Those moments

Those things
That come back
As delicate
As a blow

Of the wind
On his face.
The shivers
Along his spine

The burning
A clean slate.
Consigned
To oblivion

Dismissed
From his mind
A loss of
Consciousness

Obliterated
From his percipience.
Time, the father
Of wisdom

He lets it
Run its course.
Normalcy
His lease.

Prayer in his heart
Straight to the
First pages
Of his book

Of patience
Toward his life.
Need him
Need them

Family, friends
Children encompassing
Their love, his love.
Circumvent

The laws, accepting…

Nature

A moment of clarity and revelation 2010

Detachment…

This essay was written a while ago, but I thought it might help others struggling, if it does, all the better!

Revelations
————-

After two full years of constant relapses, we can get desperate.
So, knowing it’s, this or nothing, we go back to O.A literature we’d given up in dejection, and as we read the
book ” Hope for today ” of O.A, we are struck by three words that keep recurring.

Detachment-Forgiveness-and-Emptiness

Detachment, seems, ( at least for the people who get too involved or entangled ) to be one of the keys to success
in abstinence.

Why?

Well, if we remove ourselves from situations and sometimes people, ( in a positive sense, meaning, right time, right
place ) we’d put less energy, taking to heart THEIR lives or situation and have more left ” to put our house in order ”

If we observe people who are detached, they might seem aloof or cold, but all they are doing is keeping their lives
much simpler than ours.

Forgiveness:
Asking for forgiveness is something we think everyone practices, when harming another.
We feel betrayed, hurt and trampled on, when apologies do not occur. We wait, for recognition of their acts. For
responsibility to be taken, as it’s usually done, after calmly reassessing a situation.

Years go by and we are still waiting… Wasting our time, and on occasion, using food as a temporary relief, when it suddenly dawns on us…

Forgiveness will never be asked for, but what stops us from going on with OUR lives? It doesn’t stop OUR forgiveness.

I quote:
Forgiveness is something I do with my H.P’s help and I do it for me. I don’t need anyone’s apology to begin my healing
process. ( Hope for today. page 274 )

We cannot absorb the meaning of those words all at once. Only later, does it hit us with it’s full impact.
All the hurt, had actually nothing to do with our getting on, living and being happy.

People can choose to stay stuck in THEIR place, but we can and will, live, in its true sense from now on.

Before, everything seemed, one big, muddled heap, but now, we can divide it in two parts. People asking for forgiveness and taking responsibility, is one part that belongs to them and our lives, is the second part that belongs to us.

Free, clean and pure.

Only with that realization are we clear to burst forth, with life, energy and joy.

Excess luggage

Simplify our existence instead of wallowing in the past and wasting precious time. Only then, are we clean. After years of
dragging the muck of a dead past, we don’t have to own it. People have attitudes, which we were involuntary witnesses of,
WE don’t have to carry it.

That is forgiveness. Not bearing excessive luggage and forgiving ourselves for having done so until now. That’s the detachment needed too. Knowing what is ours and what is theirs.

Emptiness:
Emptiness is something everyone has to deal with, one time or another, but occasionally, there is a need to read about others
experiences to fully accept it. We don’t always imbibe the meaning of the term Emptiness and for some, it can be further from
their mind than the moon is to earth.

Emotions tend to dig themselves so deep in the psyche, we might have had a hard time excavating them, had we had the possibility
to do so. Filling the space, emptiness brings, with food, is never the solution, we just end up having to confront two predicaments.

So, here we are, on a holiday, a break or simply at home relaxing, where one has time to ” digest ” ideas we normally would happily
discard, clarity is given an opportunity and before we know it, we are awarded with a second chance to life. But… Sporadically,
our mind takes back old habits ( we never change that fast 🙂 ) and we wonder… Will that feeling last? That sense of elation, freedom
and joy? Will it leave its emblem guiding our ” vista ” or will we go back to our old resentments.

We do not have a clue.

All we can do is ” keep it simple ” live the moment fully, absorb the information and go on from there, to the place we really want to be.

A borough where serenity is king.