Compassion Towards Others
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Guided Meditation
“Love creates a communion with life. Love expands us, connects us, sweetens us, ennobles us.
Love springs up in tender concern, it blossoms into caring action. It makes beauty out of all we touch. In any moment we can step beyond our small self and embrace each other as beloved parts of a whole.”
― Jack Kornfield
"Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations but rather on the rights of the other; irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy; as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop a genuine concern for his or her problems. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
- His Holiness the Dali Lama
Painting Review
* adding pattern... using stencils or brushes in the shape that you are trying to make. Remember to use square brushes to make square things and round brushes for round things.
* considering your background... what is the environment my being is in? does it want imagery added? would it benefit from being simplified?
* adding shadows.... using any dark colour and a small or medium hog hair brush, tend the entire painting with shadow. Consider what is in front of what, and add dark dry paint on the side of the line where the image goes back, which makes the image in front pop off of the shadow. In less obvious places, don't worry to much about what should be in front of what... there is no right way... you get to make the call. Also take a moment to consider deepening some of the darks in your painting to develop contrast even further.
* adding light sources.... considering if there is a light source in your painting or if it is generally front lit, add a paint colour that is even lighter then the lightest light you've used so far to bring parts of your image even further forward.
* you will know when you have achieved good contrast when you can squint your eyes at your painting and really see that there are distinct darks and lights. If it all looks like it blends together, consider getting even a little more brave with the lights and darks.