CORYACORN.ART - Blog

Inspiration

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 00:30:00 GMT

Pink flamingo's are not pink naturally. This was news to me until very recently during a conversation with an old boss of mine who had travelled to Kenya in an area that had flocks of wild flamingo's. Apparently the flamingo's environment and what they eat (including algae and small crustaceans), over time changes their white to grey feathers into everything from a pinky, orange to a deep red and on an extremely rare occasion even black. Wouldn't I love to see a black flamingo!!

Learning this, put flamingo's higher on my radar these past few years. I had never had any urge to paint them and suddenly their outlines and reflections seem to start appearing on my canvas and I simply saw them everywhere I turned. Something about them being a product of their environment in a good way, struck a cord with me. After all, who wouldn't love pink feathers?

"Inspiration", original mixed media oil painting by Cory Acorn

Inspiration
These brightly coloured pink flamingos were painted to high light the things you surround yourself with and how the choices you make about those things, will impact who you are and who you become.

Brightly coloured with their faces to the sun, these two surround themselves with blue sky, a crystal sea, sunshine, and good vibes.

A painting such as this on your wall is sure to inspire you in a positive, feel good way.

It is known that we humans take on things in our environment and wear them like pink feathers. Food, books, music, people and even thoughts shape and change you. There are days the things around me and in my head start to make me feel a dingy, grey brown colour. I'm recognising this more and more and will now switch gears and go for coffee with that friend who makes me smile or go sit on the water and breath in the deep blue of the sea. It works. These days I might even go buy myself a new bright pink top.
So if your world is looking a bit dingy, think about the pink flamingo's and consider what you have around you that might be impacting your feather colours.
Drop me a note and let me know what you do to surround yourself with positive good vibes.
Cheers
Cory

Author

Cory Acorn is a fine artist living and painting in Port Stephens, Australia.

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Miracles

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 23:00:00 GMT

I've recently discovered audio books. Yes, I know they have been around for sometime now but I've been slow on the uptake. You see I love my paper books. I love a good library of them too. The kind of library where books exist on shelves up to the ceiling and reading lights, coffee and comfy chairs are plentiful. The problem is that I have not read a great deal since coming to Australia. Time has sped up and slipped away and the hours I used to spend, absorbed in the pages of a great book, just can't be found.
So audio books have taken up a place on my phone. I can plug in and listen whenever I have time and I get notifications on newly published gems on a daily basis. And so I've listened to more books than I've read in the past 5 years.
One of those books, I have yet to finish. I hit play on "A Course in Miracles" by Dr. Helen Schucman almost 2 years ago now. This book is a bit of a marathon and I still have over 14 hours of it left to go. It contains a lifetime of work that I need to do on my personal growth and so the going has been a bit of a journey.

"Miracles" by Cory Acorn

Miracles
You are worthy of miracles. You are a miracle.
This painting has a beautiful butterfly fluttering into a garden of flowers. Both miraculous in their own right.
The painting is a mixed media piece finished in oil and of course, it is on fine art paper.

Here is but one example of the lessons from this great book (again, if you missed it, " A Course on Miracles" by Helen Schucman). I just listened to this lesson today and I'm still stewing on it. The following contains some of the key statements strung together and not necessarily in the order presented.

Lesson 91: Miracles are seen in the Light.
Miracles and vision necessarily go together. The miracle is always there. Its presence is not caused by your vision. Its absence is not as a result of your failure to see it. It is only your awareness of miracles that is affected. You will see miracles in the light and you will not see miracles in the dark. Light is crucial. While you remain in darkness, the miracle remains unseen and thus you are convinced it is not there. On top of this, to be told what is not seen, is there, sounds like insanity. Faith lies in the darkness, not the light. Miracles are seen in Light and the body's eyes do not perceive the Light. You are not a body. What am I? What you think you are is a belief to be undone. What you really are must be revealed to you. The mistake of your belief is what is to be revealed. If you are not a body, what are you?

I am certain the you understand why it is taking me so long to get through these deep passages. There is a lot to unpack in a few short statements.

Anyway, along with audio books, I've also been listening music online too. I've always been a fan of the radio. Something about not knowing what will play next and the effortless aspect of radio has always appealed to me. The trouble with radio is the chatter, both the announcers ramble and commercials. I just want to listen to music. Online at least rids me of the announcers if not the ads. Ok, so back to my point. I stumbled on a gem the other day. A song about miracles. It is a funny, silly song but has a heart felt message and a catchy tune. The songs main message is "It's a miracle that you are here at all." and "... don't waste it". Check it out, you might add it to one of your playlists. It is called, "Dissect the Bird" by John Craigie. You'll get a chuckle if nothing else and everyone needs a chuckle right now.

So I guess my point today is that even when you are down, when you feel like you've missed out, are missing out, or just forgotten, remember that you are a miracle and on top of that you are worthy of miracles. So get out there and like John says, don't waste it.

Author

Cory Acorn is a fine artist living and painting in Port Stephens, Australia.

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There is Greatness in you.

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 21:00:00 GMT

Do you know that everyone has greatness in them? True greatness. There is greatness in you. That top of the mountain, light shining down on you, awesome kind of greatness. It is in you. On top of that, it is a word that applies to everyone; you, me, your neighbour, your friend, the delivery guy, the grocer, the nurse, the doctor, and yes, even the politician. The important part to understand though is that there is greatness in you.

Photo by Trail on Unsplash.

I heard this for the first time in a training session I attended as an emerging leader at Colt Engineering many years ago. Lou Tice's words, "There is greatness in you", sprung from the page and struck me in my heart. "Really?" I thought. I stared at the words 'you' and 'greatness' written together on the page and lost track of what was being said in the class. I shook my head to return to the discussion and waited to later that night to stare at the words again, in wonder. Those words, "There is greatness in you", started a glimmer of an awareness that lit up my soul.

Up until that moment, greatness was not a word I would have imagined using to describe myself and most certainly was not something anyone had ever suggested, seriously in referring to me. And yet, the thought of the word greatness in all its meaning, being referred to me, created a spark of awareness. Awareness of a light that I carried within me. A possibility. That spark of self awareness has travelled with me during some very dark times and has nearly been snuffed right out many times over. Self doubt and a head full of thoughts did not help. Thoughts like, If I'm so great, why did I lose my job?, Why does no one like me, love me, and many other negative stories and questions to shame myself into giving up and selling out. Or even worse, that ever annoying doubt that I felt when I would look at the greatness that was so obvious in those around me. Surely that is where greatness is, I would think.

Monarch Wonder, Original oil painting by Cory Acorn

I recently created a painting of a Southern Cassowary gazing in wonder at a roost of Monarch butterflies. Could it be that we are like that, that I am like that? Looking in wonder at things so different from ourselves that we do not see our own unique, greatness? Maybe. Or maybe we can instead gaze in wonder at the beauty and greatness around us without in any way diminishing who and what we are. After all, there is greatness in us all.

So that is where my spark of self awareness from a few simple words has taken me. There is greatness in all of us so indeed, there is greatness in me and there is greatness in you. Neither one diminishes the other. I understand more the vastness of the meaning that we have assigned to the word greatness. My little spark of awareness is shining a bit brighter than it did 20 years ago. I feel the sense of greatness rise when I'm painting and or at times like this, when I decide to write a few words. As for your greatness? That is still much easier for me to see.

Art Matters

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 21:00:00 GMT

Art Matters
I see you.
I hear you.
I know you.
You are me. I am you.
We exist as one.
We matter.
You matter.
I matter.
Art Matters.
- Cory Acorn

I think we can all agree that everyone matters (at least those of you who I'm interested in chatting to here in my new blog realise this - welcome by the way !) but do you really feel that you matter? In your heart of hearts do you feel, believe you matter? I know for me, I have struggled with this belief. It is so easy to put myself outside of the circle that says, you matter. When I am at my lowest, I turn to a few leaders that I respect and trust for their wisdom and guidance. In doing so, I can usually dig myself out of my dark place and come back to the fact that yes, I matter. After all, if I can say I truly believe that everyone matters, then I must also matter, right? And what does this all have to do with art and painting then?

Photo by Anton Darius on Unsplash

Spiritual leader, Eckhart Tolle (He's my guru so get used to me referencing him) has repeatedly been heard to say that we (you, me and everyone else) are the light of the world. Yes, that's right, the light of the world. I thought about this. Being the 'light of the world' is no small thing. Surely if we are the light of the world, we all must matter. And if we matter, that means I matter. And yes, it also means you matter.
More recently I also realised that painting for me also emphasises the whole 'I matter' concept/belief. You see, when I paint, I strive to create artwork that celebrates the light in the world around us and in doing so, just maybe, you could say, my art brings a bit of goodness, beauty, laughter and light to this world that we belong to. I can say that I aim for this in my art because I created a personal mission statement many years ago (and long before I even owned a paint brush) that I work at fulfilling each and every day. I'll share it with you here and if you are interested, I can tell you about creating a mission statement for yourself if you like - just send me a message.

Personal Mission Statement
I will explore my every gift and talent, never wasting my potential to bring goodness, beauty, laughter and light to my life and the world around me. - Cory Acorn, Professional Fine Artist

Koala Light Original oil painting by Cory Acorn

I must paint because, with all that goodness, beauty, laughter and light purposefully contained in my artwork, my art matters.
So there you have it; all statements must be true. You matter, I matter, and Art Matters. So now, I must run as I have some painting to do. I am after all, the light of the world. How about you?