Day 19. Things you can’t reach, but can reach out to them.

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Comments” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.6″ custom_margin=”-16px|99px||auto|false|false” custom_padding=”33px||33px||true|false” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” custom_width_px__hover=”1080px” custom_width_px__hover_enabled=”1080px” custom_width_percent__hover=”80%” custom_width_percent__hover_enabled=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}” use_custom_width__hover=”off” use_custom_width__hover_enabled=”off” width_unit__hover=”on” width_unit__hover_enabled=”on” make_fullwidth__hover=”off” make_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”7262e956-c376-4aa6-9642-c413f71527d0″ text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” width=”100%” text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”13px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_font_size_tablet=”55px” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]

“Connection” 8×8, oil on canvas

There are things you can’t reach. But

you can reach out to them, and all day long.

The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of God. 

And it can keep you as busy as anything else, and happier.

– Mary Oliver in “Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does it End?”

 

Poet Mary Oliver taught me to look for the sacred in the natural, to uncover the universe in my own backyard. Her lessons are more often than not lost on me. I am so often looking at clocks instead of trees, websites instead of birds, a screen instead of the sky. 

But every once in a while the lesson gets through, and more often than not, art is what causes the breakthrough. 

Today’s painting might be my favorite of the 31. I am repeatedly struck by the size of the Bluejays that flit about the oak tree in my backyard. Watching them simultaneously brings me back to myself and out of myself, both grounded and reaching out.

All my paintings from the month will be available February 3 at the gallery and online February 6.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”003e9429-8e11-4d9e-968b-8881092bbf81″ header_2_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#161616″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.35em” header_2_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jb21tZW50X2NvdW50Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiPGgyPiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIENvbW1lbnRzIDwvaDI+IiwibGlua190b19jb21tZW50c19wYWdlIjoib2ZmIn19@[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” padding_tablet=”0px||” padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding__hover=”|||” padding_phone=”0px||”][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_count=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ form_field_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” form_field_text_color=”#161616″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Work Sans|700|||||||” header_font_size=”18px” header_line_height=”1.4em” title_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” form_field_font_size=”16px” form_field_line_height=”1.8em” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_text_color=”#161616″ button_bg_color=”#e3e1dd” button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” button_custom_padding=”10px|24px|10px|24px|true|true” button_text_size_tablet=”17px” button_text_size_phone=”16px” button_text_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” border_radii_fields=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_width_all_fields=”1px” border_color_all_fields=”#E3E1DD” form_background_color=”rgba(26,10,56,0.03)” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-70e8f1e6-78eb-4f52-a811-0c9b614afdc2%22:%91%93}” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off|hover”][/et_pb_comments][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

[/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Author” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#E09900″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiJXcml0dGVuIGJ5ICIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwibmFtZV9mb3JtYXQiOiJkaXNwbGF5X25hbWUiLCJsaW5rIjoib2ZmIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl9hcmNoaXZlIn19@” image=”https://denisehopkinsfineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201-DENISE_HOPKINS_COMMERCIAL-scaled.jpg” image_icon_width=”100px” content_max_width=”100%” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,content” _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” border_radii_image=”on|100px|100px|100px|100px” image_max_width=”100px” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfYmlvIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIifX0=@[/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Related Posts” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0|0px|54px|0px|false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”003e9429-8e11-4d9e-968b-8881092bbf81″ text_text_color=”#ea8a90″ header_2_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#161616″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.35em” header_2_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]

More From The Blog

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,1_2,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” custom_width_px__hover=”1080px” custom_width_px__hover_enabled=”1080px” custom_width_percent__hover=”80%” custom_width_percent__hover_enabled=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}” make_fullwidth__hover=”off” make_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”off” use_custom_width__hover=”off” use_custom_width__hover_enabled=”off” width_unit__hover=”on” width_unit__hover_enabled=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ include_categories=”93,all” show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||”][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ include_categories=”93,all” show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” offset_number=”2″ _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” border_width_all=”0px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||”][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ include_categories=”214,all” show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” offset_number=”3″ _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” border_width_all=”0px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||”][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Picture of Denise Hopkins

Denise Hopkins

January 19, 2023

Share Post

Leave a Reply

blog

Related Blog Posts

Remember You are Dust

One of the first things I remember learning as a child was the concept of patterns. Teachers seemed to be...

View Post
gallery wall oil paintings
July 2024, New Work Preview!

After kicking off 2024 with a (mostly) small painting a day in my annual 31 in 31 practice, I was...

View Post
Day 31. If you want to go far…

  “If You Want to go Far” 24×30 inches, oil on canvas I started this month with a bike, and...

View Post

Privacy Policy

This following document sets forth the Privacy Policy for this website. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Crh), which sets out a number of principles concerning the privacy of individuals using this website.

Collection of your personal information

We collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information from visitors to this Website. Non-Personally Identifiable Information is information that cannot by itself be used to identify a particular person or entity, and may include your IP host address, pages viewed, browser type, Internet browsing and usage habits, advertisements that you click on, Internet Service Provider, domain name, the time/date of your visit to this Website, the referring URL and your computer’s operating system.

Free offers & opt-ins

Participation in providing your email address in return for an offer from this site is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose your information. You may unsubscribe at any time so that you will not receive future emails.

Sharing of your personal information

Your personal information that we collect as a result of you purchasing our products & services, will NOT be shared with any third party, nor will it be used for unsolicited email marketing or spam. We may send you occasional marketing material in relation to our design services. What Information Do We Collect? If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses.