The Return To Innocence

http://naamah-darling.livejournal.com/623299.html
Seriously, you guys. Seriously. *points* This woman. This woman is awesome. She is AMAZING. All her custom ponies are amazing; they are fantastic, they are extraordinary.
But I think she and I can both say with total confident honesty that Serenity is the best. (Okay, the best so far. But still.) And Serenity belongs to ME, because this woman made her JUST FOR ME. As a special gift.
And she knew she was doing it even before I told her I was considering requesting a custom since they are pricey and I wanted to save up money. And there she was smirking and giggling smugly because I had no idea, and then I got Serenity in the mail and I cried and sobbed so hard because the happiness and joy was overwhelming.
And now Serenity is literally imbued with my magic, and I love her more than any toy I have received in my adult life...
And seriously, people, you should seriously consider Namaah's ponies. She is absolutely incredible.
But Serenity is still the best. Truth. *nods*
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151406320840684.1073741827.640545683&type=1

And still, whenever I feel anxious and upset and depressed, I just touch the lotus bud symbol on her forehead, and I actually honestly feel better.

Edited to add:

Serenity the pony called to me, so decided to take a photo to show how much I adore her.

I have not loved a toy so much since I was a teenager. I cannot thank naamah_darling enough for creating and naming this pony just for me. This may be one of the most perfect toy gifts I have gotten in my adult life.

Serenity has been charged and imbued with as much personal magic energies as I could give her. She is now a method of helping me work with physical, emotional, and psychic self stimming in a weird way.
I talk to her during episodes of anxiety and depression; I kiss the lotus bud blaze on her forehead when I say goodnight. I brush her hair with wood combs and boar brushes. It relaxes me.

She soothes my brain and centers my mind in ways I cannot explain. She is a toy, custom made... but she is special beyond description.





It doesn't matter how old or young you are. There will always be some sort of toy or physical object that represents something important, something life-like or abstract or surreal, that you bond to deeply.

"In my drawings, I want to capture the emotion, the feeling of the gesture, the feeling that the figure could keep moving... that the figure is fluid, immediate, and tentative. I'm more interested in the process of the drawing... multiple lines, revisions on the page. The act of drawing is as much a part of the drawing, to me, as the finished piece. I draw quickly and can determine in a few strokes whether the drawing will work, or I whether have to start over. I don't work on a piece for many hours in order to draw every pore and crease... if I wanted something so exact, I'd take a photograph and be done! All that was part of my training as a fashion illustrator, to quickly get the essence, the elegance of the form..."
-Linda Capello, on why she applies her very specific art form.
http://www.lindacapello.com/

Ladies and gentlemen, the unveiling of something I thought would never happen.

http://www.lindacapello.com/

My artist mother has never touched a computer except to turn it on, update her resume in MS Word, and turn it off -- with my patient coaching over the phone (ie: "Um, Mom, you're holding the mouse upside down. That's why clicking didn't work.") My mother has lived her fifty-nine years perfectly content with no cable, no electric can opener, and certainly no internet, since reading a screen hurts her eyes and head. When I was fourteen, my parents bought me a computer, a 486, and all I did was write stories. My mother didn't know how it worked and was content to not know. Several years later, I got a newer computer for its time, and my mother amused herself with the On button, which to her resembled a belly button. Then I got a modem and internet, and my parents insisted it was an alien form of communication and vowed never to get themselves involved. My mother, especially.
She did eventually buy a prepaid cell phone, a DVD player, and a fax machine. She and my father live in their tiny house and make a decent living with their art and side jobs, and don't need or want anything fancy. The only things my father misses about cable television are the History Channel and a few cable channels. If they really want to watch something, they drive five minutes to the house of their friends, the Baileys, and sometimes they bring a blank VHS tape to record.
Recently, my mother's favorite art student, Nicole, insisted that she have a website if she really wanted to promote her work. So, Nicole made my mother a website. Eventually, Adam will give my mother a computer, which she may or may not use often. Certainly not the internet.
But, hey, for my parents this is progress.

(Small warning: My mom's artwork features female nudes. This website features Artful Painted Nudity. If you or those in your immediately physical vicinity cannot see a website featuring such, please wait until you are appropriately situated to view Artful Painted Nudity.
Also: Yes, I have modeled for my mother, but I have never modeled nude for her, so if any pictures of me show up, they'll be with a bikini or dress.)

My mother turns 58 today. She still looks ten years younger. My father is that way too. My family has some fantastic "youthful looks" genes.

Sadly, her artwork is not selling as well as it did last year. Come on, you yuppie Hamptons snobs, don't you know good art when you see it? Oh, that's right. You don't.
Mom is considering just getting out there and being more aggressive with her sell tactics. She's not as confident as she seems about her work, which is a shock to me, as she has always been the most confident, assertive, self-assured woman I have ever known. However, Mom quickly reassured me when she announced she'll be stepping up her game to get people to buy.

(Yes, links to my parents' stuff is in my userinfo. Photos do not do them justice, please keep that in mind. My parents do not use the internet at all, therefore access to their work is limited.)

Taken from faire_damsel

I was told I look similar to the woman in this painting. It must be the square jawline, the full lips, the dark hair, and the slender figure. It's beautiful. Does anyone know the name of the painting?