david robinson | The Direction of Intention

Fly Above The Clouds [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on January 8, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

in the clouds copy

I was eighteen years old the first time I was above the clouds. It was a revelation. Even then I was in awe that I live in a time that I can see above the clouds. In the history of humanity, that makes me one of the few. One of the fortunate.

Miracles become the new norm and so, routine. Unseen.

Last week I was once again above the clouds. The sun was rising and the colors magnificent. I was propelled back in time to my first flight, my first sight of the thing Leonardo da Vinci could only dream about, what Van Gogh could only touch through imagination. I was revisited by my eighteen year old self and was once again awash in awe.

The cloak of routine drops and the miraculous is revealed. It is merely a matter of seeing it.

As I sat buckled into my seat, I wondered how much of my life I lose to the notion of ‘routine’ and, so, miss the obvious crackling truth: I’ve never lived this day before. I’ve never experienced this moment before. I am flying above the clouds every day. I have no idea what is about to happen, what I am about to see.

read Kerri’s blog post about FLYING ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Filed under: Seeing, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: clouds, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, flight, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, miracles, moments, perception, presence, seeing, studio melange | Leave a comment »

Look Up [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on January 7, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

Lester struck up a conversation with us on the train to Chicago. Sitting across the aisle, fresh from a job interview, he was chatty with relief. He has the gift of gab and our chat was easy and wide ranging. Kids. Art. Relationships. We talked about how difficult it is for people to talk, how guarded we’ve become in our modern world, how armored we are against simple dialogue. We reveled in how unusual it is for strangers on a train to share life-stories for an hour without distraction or wary suspicion! We bemoaned how our political circumstance makes every conversation a mine field, how topic-avoidance defines many of our relationships.

We looked around the compartment and noted how social media is a double-edged sword, providing easy access to our children a thousand miles away but also a ready escape from the people sitting 3 feet away. Lester laughed and shared a moment he recently had with his girlfriend who is addicted to her phone. “She’s constantly looking for what’s trending on Facebook and Instagram. She’s forever lost in what’s trending.” he said. “The other day I told her, ‘Hey! I’m right here! Put down your phone! I’m trending!'”

Many years ago, when texting and social media were new forces in our world, my business partner and I had an ongoing debate about whether a real relationship was possible through social media. I was solidly in the ‘no’ camp. She was an enthusiastic ‘yes!’ Over the years, as the technology has evolved, I’ve stepped back and forth across that debate. The sword remains double-edged and I will most likely dance across that line forever. But I know this: nothing takes the place of reaching out and holding my wife’s hand. Having lunch with Kirsten or Craig is infinitely more rich than any text exchange. I can sit in a room while Kerri reads a book or scribbles notes for a song and not feel left out but all the time feel alone when the person I’m sharing space with is lost in what’s trending.

What’s trending will wash down the streaming river in moments and be replaced with yet another wave. Manufactured importance. It’s breaking news that constantly breaks, a drug that requires bigger and bigger doses. Immediacy is not necessarily substantive.

Lester might well have said, “Hey! I’m right here! I’m with you now. Isn’t that enough?”

read Kerri’s blog post about I’M TRENDING

Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Perspective, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, manufactured importance, presence, social media, studio melange, trending | Leave a comment »

Recognize The Moment [on KS Friday]

Posted on January 4, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

WATERSHED SONG BOX copy

I don’t know about you but my watershed moments usually pass without my notice. I rarely recognize them when they happen. It is only later, looking back, that I recognize the moment that changed my life. An email. A decision to take advantage of a layover. The choice to turn around and see if what I thought I saw was true.

And, once the choice was made, I stepped into a river of forces that took over and swept me along. A left hand path to an unforeseen destination. A destiny.

This piece, WATERSHED, begins as all watershed moments begin. Simply. And then…

WATERSHED on the album AS IT IS is available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about WATERSHED

watershed/as it is ©️ 2004 kerri sherwood

Filed under: Edges, KS Friday, Possibility, Uncategorized | Tagged: AS IT IS, choices, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, decisions, destiny, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, left hand path, society6.com/kerrisherwood, watershed, watershed moments | Leave a comment »

Reach With Wonder [on DR Thursday]

Posted on January 3, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

“One of the reasons that we wonder is because we are limited, and that limitation is one of the great gateways to wonder.” ~John O’Donohue

I loved this canvas before I painted Cloud Watchers on it. It was old and used. Chunky with layers. I can’t remember how it came to me but I do remember thinking that it was the Velveteen Rabbit of canvas. Loved. Well worn. A long history – that is to say – filled with lots and lots of story. Perfect.

And, how appropriate that it is living a next chapter as Cloud Watchers, part of a series that I call ‘narrative.’ All narratives – inner and outer – are projections. Life’s stories are image transfers, meaning imposed just like the meaning we place upon the movement of clouds. There’s a duck! Look! There’s a dragon, a dinosaur, an elephant. A fear. A goal. An opinion. Mr Magoo! Belief! There’s Thomas Jefferson! The Buddha.

We reach with wonder from our isolation. We touch through imagination. We are cloud watchers full of story, filling the air with our stories. We are glorious creators all!

cloud watchers, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 49.5In

read Kerri’s blog post about CLOUD WATCHERS

cloud watchers/morsel ©️ 2002 – 6/2018 david robinson

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Perspective, Story, The Direction of Intention, Uncategorized | Tagged: acrylic painting, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, images, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, meaning making, narrative, narrative series, narratives, painting, projection, sense making, society6.com/davidrobinson, story, storyteller, storytelling | Leave a comment »

Listen To BabyCat [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on January 2, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

babycat in a box copy

Everyone has there safe spot. The place where they can relax, let their guard down. Rest. Mine is the chair in my studio. For years my dad’s safe spot was his reclining chair. He’d melt into it and fall fast asleep. Safe spots are contained spaces. Quiet. Known. Cocoons.

BabyCat has many safe spots. He moves with the sun from safe spot to safe spot around the house. He recently added another to his holdings. It is not fancy. There is nothing designer about his tastes though this choice surprised us: a toothpaste box from Costco.

Moments before it became a BabyCat safe spot, the box was loaded with coffee, eggs, a bottle of wine. It had no importance. We tossed the box to the floor merely to make space on the counter. A discard en route to the recycling bag. And then BabyCat occupied it. We knew immediately that this was not temporary housing by the way he settled in. This was the real deal. He purred.

Though we’ve moved it to a less trip-able spot, the toothpaste box remains one of BabyCat’s favorites in his safe spot rotation. Watching him move from zen to zen I realized he is never far from a safe spot. He has constructed his life according to maximizing his inner quiet and comfort. It is his top priority.

There must be a lesson to be learned in there somewhere. This year, as I run from place to place, from one stress spot to the next, enrapt in my all-too-important list of things to accomplish, I will stop (periodically) and remember the power of a toothpaste box, the lesson of BabyCat and the real possibility of moving through life prioritizing my peace instead of raising my blood pressure.

BabyCat Lesson One: identify more than one safe spot. Then multiply.

read Kerri’s blog post about BABYCAT’S BOX

Filed under: Awakening, Flawed Wednesday, Possibility, Uncategorized | Tagged: cocoon, Costco, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, ease, inner quiet, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, presence, safe spot, studio melange, zen place | Leave a comment »

Read The Calendar [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on January 1, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

Today we read the 2018 daily calendar and revisit the happenings of the past year. During the year, Kerri records in the calendar the events of each day. She tracks our experiences, big or small, and keeps her account nestled alongside the due date for bills, appointments, and birthday reminders. Astonishing sunsets. A special phone call. A remarkable meal with friends. It is our ritual on the first day of the new year, the inaugural of the new calendar, to read where we’ve gone, to revisit what we’ve encountered in the past 365 days.

I love this ritual. Inevitably, our review is punctuated with phrases like, “Wow! I’d totally forgotten that!” or “Can you believe that was just a few months ago?” It always reminds us how rich and full are our lives. It reminds us how much we forget in this fast moving river. It reminds us of the many challenges we’ve overcome, the troubles we’ve forded, and how much import and stress we gave to things that mattered little. It reminds us that the big events, the achievements, are rarely where the bounty is found.

It reminds us that there is nothing more important than sitting together at the end of a cycle, the portal of the new year, and telling the story of us. We learn who we are by where we’ve been and how we’ve walked through our days. And, more to the point, telling this story of life-lived reminds us that, we will once again in a not-so-distant future, on the first day, review our year. So, to complete our ritual, we always ask ourselves, in the coming 365 days, amidst the unforeseen circumstances and uncontrollable events, what is the story that we will want to tell?

read Kerri’s blog post about THE NEW YEAR

Filed under: Pattern, Story, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: calendar, cycles, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, moments, New Year, review, ritual, story, storytelling, studio melange | Leave a comment »

Juxtapose [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on December 31, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

NYE copy

I come to this eve of the new year holding two images, two art experiences juxtaposed. One is a review of the past. The other a resolution. Together they resonate.

The first, the review of things past that influence things to come, is Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary film, And They Shall Not Grow Old. It is a miracle of film making (stay to see the segment about how it was made that rolls after the credits. You will shake your head with wonderment). It takes you into the trenches and horrors of war. We left the theatre both wowed by the film-making and shocked by the utter senselessness of war. Wowed by the human capacity to innovate and despairing at our capacity to willingly destroy ourselves for imagined gains. Both are technical achievements.

The morning after seeing the film I opened Brain Pickings and, given the film, I was smacked by a photograph of Earth taken from The Voyager spacecraft in the mid 1990’s. The Pale Blue Dot. It brought instant perspective to war – and everything else we imagine to be so important. Within the vast expanse of space, “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” I had to look twice to see the speck that is Earth. Our imagined importance is out of perspective with the realities of our circumstance. The fragility (the miracle) of our existence is generally lost in our daily myopia.

Two images. Juxtaposed.

read Kerri’s blog post on THE NEW YEAR

Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Perspective, The Direction of Intention, Uncategorized | Tagged: Brain Pickings, Carl Sagan, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, film making, human capacity, imagination, innovation, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, myopia, New Years Eve, Peter Jackson, studio melange, technical achievement, The Pale Blue Dot, They Shall Not Grow Old, Voyager, war | Leave a comment »

Say Goodbye [on KS Friday]

Posted on December 28, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

bonus track godbewithyou songbox copy

It is the season of brief visits. Loved ones crossing paths for a few precious days. And then a good-bye. Until we meet again.

Kerri and I do not live close to our siblings or children. Our cousins, nieces and nephews are scattered across the country (and globe). In some cases we count the years since we last saw them and we can’t believe so much time has passed.

This short piece, this bonus track, the last track on Kerri’s Christmas Album, THE LIGHTS, is an especially poignant and appropriate wish for this season of brief visits coming to an end. Until we meet again.

BONUS TRACK on THE LIGHTS: A CHRISTMAS ALBUM available on iTunes & CDBaby. Limited CDs available on Kerri’s site.

read Kerri’s blog post about the BONUS TRACK

Filed under: Family, KS Friday, Love, Uncategorized | Tagged: bonus track, christmas, christmas music, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, family, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, leaving, path crossing, the lights, until we meet again, visits | Leave a comment »

Walk To The Other Side [on DR Thursday]

Posted on December 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

BlowingWishes Morsel copy

There is a ping-pong table in my studio that is piled high with paintings that are not yet stretched. And, because these paintings are constantly moving, pulled and tacked to the wall to be shown then placed back in the pile, they are stored with no particular order. This process of random stacking and re-stacking allows us to see the pieces from many different points of view; what was top is now bottom. It affords new perspectives, it helps me see again as if for the first time.

Pile It is such a simple thing and yet so hard to do – to let go of what we think is right, allowing a new perspective of something that we think we understand. The word I’ve learned to pay attention to is “think.” The skill of an artist is to see beyond what they “think.” The gift of the artist is to help others see beyond what they think. To pop open new perspectives and make space for new possibilities.

It is easy to confuse thinking (interpretation) with ‘seeing.’ They are not the same thing. It is so easy to believe ‘stuck thinking’ is ‘being right.’ It’s a good practice – a healthy practice – to spin things around a bit. To doubt what you think so you might have a more direct experience. So that you might see. So that you might learn. So that you might experience today as different from yesterday.

Life, as they say, is always found in the direction of not knowing.

Kerri calls this morsel BLOWING WISHES. It’s what you see if walk to the other side of the ping-pong table.

GREET THE DAY, mixed media 48 x 48IN (or bigger)

read Kerri’s blog post about BLOWING WISHES

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Seeing, Uncategorized | Tagged: artist, artistry, blowing wishes, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, doubt, greet the day, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, perception, perspective, seeing, seeking, society6.com/davidrobinson, thinking | Leave a comment »

Be With [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on December 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

being present box copy

In the cliche’ hall of fame, this phrase probably sits atop the pile: the best present is being present. And, if you stop for a moment and think about it, this phrase is undeniably true. That is the reason it has the top spot in the cliche’ universe.

We gather. The ritual provides the reason. We gather to affirm. To revivify the story. To nourish the one thing that matters: our relationship to one another. The rest is merely accoutrement.

This season I saw many many photos of families gathered around a table. People shared photos of their loved ones standing by a tree, in the snow, on the beach, organized on a staircase, in a kitchen. People traveling to be with their people. On the cards we sent to family and friends we wrote, “Thinking of you.” What we meant was, “Wanting to be with you.”

In the many photos that people shared with me, no one showed me a photo of the stuff they received. No one showed me a photo of the stuff they gave. They showed me the reason they were giving and receiving the stuff. The relationship.

Sometimes it hides in plain sight.

And, since the relationships are the epicenter, there is only one thing that sits atop the pyramid of gifts given and received. And, every day it is the same: presence. Being with.

read Kerri’s blog post about THE BEST PRESENT