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Post by Don Barone on Feb 8, 2004 9:22:08 GMT -5
Hi all ... While searching in amongst the artworks I found the new image I have posted above. It is from a series of four paintings which Thomas Cole painted in 1842. The four were entitled: ChildhoodYouthManhoodOld AgeAnd here is another brilliant piece: Expulsion from The Garden of EdenAmazing how some artists can say so much with the stroke of a brush. Brilliant work to be sure. Best Regards Don Barone |
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 9, 2004 7:54:25 GMT -5
Hi Don, The paintings are beautiful to be sure, maybe we can have a special "The Paintings" subject, but please, can we have the original " doorways" back, please? Thank you  It is our beginning and "Home", and when I don't see it I feel lost.  Charlotte |
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 9, 2004 10:10:48 GMT -5
Oh well since you were a co-founder. All is as it was before ...  Cheers Don Barone |
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 9, 2004 11:02:26 GMT -5
LOL LOL, don't cry dear Don, you are so kind, but more than that, I just love it when I say "jump Don" and you say "how high Charlotte."
Running for cover
Charlotte
PS Don't be too harsh, because the other hand, you know I would bend over backwards for you.
CC
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 9, 2004 11:23:22 GMT -5
Hi Charlotte I will deal with those comments in a private email. I would never publically say what I am going to say to you.  But now to the paintings. First 'Childhood"  I see in this painting new life coming forth from the 'womb of darkness' here represented by the cave. But please notice that it exists. It is real. This life springs forth from a darkness we can not perceive but that is not to say that there could not be many such caves along our journey and that they are not real. In other words many 'births' from these tunnels of darkness.
And then we see an infant. It could be you or I. And then we notice an angel, a Guardian Angel ? Perhaps. Sharing our journey and always riding with us as we travel down this river, this river of LIFE !. Maybe 'it's' job to protect us ? And then into a pristine world full of new things to discover and most importantly into the light of knowledge. And this 'river of life' moving slowly, allowing us to take it all in and the beauty we behold. It kind of makes one want to cry.
Next up "Youth"
Don Barone |
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Post by JohnDMiller on Feb 10, 2004 13:30:58 GMT -5
Thanks Don,
They are very impressive offerings.
Back soon
JohnDM
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 12, 2004 11:32:08 GMT -5
Up today two offerings: Youth: In this picture "we" have now travelled into our youth. The River of [Our] Life is calm and serene. No problems can be seen. It is here where it appears that our Guardian Angel is saying good bye to us having seemingly accomplished it's goal and now is sending us off into the idylic landscape which is our childhood and teen years. The surroundings are beautiful and there are no apparent dangers lurking. We have been given a chance to experience this new world on our own. Or so it seems. All is calm, all is bright. Above [top left] we can vaguely see what appears to be a castle or home of some sort. Perhaps a vague recollection or memory, slowly fading, of where our journey and the purpose of this journey is to lead us and it's reasons. ... But what is waiting for us ? Rivers [and life] can change in an instant. Let us see ... Manhood: In this painting "we" have now reached adulthood. We seem to be alone travelling on a course that seems to be out of control. The terrain is rocky and rough and it appears that we are doomed. There is no landscape, no flowers, no apparent hope. We have our hands clasped as in prayer and appear to be hopelessly out of control on this journey through life. There is no hope. All is lost. We think we are alone. We have lost site of our goal. The memories are gone. The skies are black. We are doomed. But wait what do we see up at the top left hand corner ? Yes it is our Guardian Angel watching over us. Maybe we are not doomed to be destroyed by this raging torrent after all. Do we make it ? Do we want to make it ? We shall see ... Don Barone |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 13, 2004 8:40:13 GMT -5
Dear DON and CHARLOTTE, i would like to know who the painter of these pictures was !? and the time when these paintings have been made ? ( about 1830 ? ). if a more recent product, then it remembers me to the some european paintings of the so called romantic era starting around 1800 up to around 1850. one of my grand-grandfathers (or evtl. a brother of him ) was the german JOHANN GRUSS ( in modern czech literature: JAN GRUSS ) who was the first able to repair and restore the most biggest oil-painting of ALBRECHT DUERER: FIEST OF THE ROSARY. this painting had become very worthly damaged in the 30-year war (1618-1648), and was considered neary to be lost ! JOHANN and his son worked about 4 years on the repair ( from 1839 to 1842 at Leitmeritz / today: LITOMERICE / 45 miles north from czech capital-city PRAHA / PRAGUE ). top secret : i myself was born as a GRUSS, and later took over the name of my step-father ("stiefvater") JOHANN GRUNDL . this big oilpainting is now in the CZECH NATIONAL GALERY ( at PRAHA / in a building below the famous HRADSCHIN (hradczany ) -- so far some private informations concerning my own artistic  heritage or relation ! at school i liked to paint and draw. ( i got nearly always the best note: "1" ) ok, but later, life had it's own dynamics, throwing me into computer-science and a mainframe related job ! best regards: Bernie |
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 13, 2004 9:44:38 GMT -5
Truly, the Guardian Angel seems to be near whenever I "almost" have a major or irreversible accident of some sort, and gratefully I say "thank you." In dreams, when some wild animal is about to kill me, it is as though at the last second "somebody" extinguishes that energy in "no time" and I am glad. Bernhard, nice to know a bit of your personal life, and Gott zum Gruss! In fact, about 2 month ago, I watched a program of a large painting which was heavely damaged during the war being moved and restored, but can't remember which one Charlotte |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 13, 2004 10:36:29 GMT -5
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 13, 2004 15:55:40 GMT -5
Hi Bernhard .. The artist is Thomas Cole. Here is his biography. These paintings were painted in 1842. Biography of Thomas Cole "Thomas Cole, born in Lancashire, England, was trained as an engraver of woodblocks used for printing calico. Because he did not have any formal education in art, his aesthetic ideas derived from poetry and literature, influences that were strongly to mark his paintings. The Cole family emigrated to America in 1818, but Thomas spent a year alone in Philadelphia before going on to Steubenville, Ohio, where his family had settled. He spent several years in Steubenville designing patterns and probably also engraving woodblocks for his father's wallpaper manufactory. He made his first attempts at landscape painting after learning the essentials of oil painting from a nebulous itinerant portraitist named Stein. In 1823, Cole followed his family to Pittsburgh and began to make detailed and systematic studies of that city's highly picturesque scenery, establishing a procedure of painstakingly detailed drawing that was to become the foundation of his landscape painting. " During another stay in Philadelphia, from 1823 to 1824, Cole determined to become a painter and closely studied the landscapes of Thomas Doughty and Thomas Birch exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy, His technique improved greatly and his thinking on the special qualities of American scenery began to crystallize. Cole next moved to New York, where the series of works he produced following a sketching trip up the Hudson River in the summer of 1825 brought him to the attention of the city's most important artists and patrons. From then on, his future as a landscape painter was assured. By 1829, when he decided to go to Europe to study firsthand the great works of the past, he had become one of the founding members of the National Academy of Design and was generally recognized as America's leading landscape painter. "In Europe, Cole's visits to the great galleries of London and Paris and, more important, his stay in Italy from 1831 to 1832, filled his imagination with high-minded themes and ideas. A true Romantic spirit, he sought to express in his painting the elevated moral tone and concern with lofty themes previously the province of history painting. When he returned to America, he found an enlightened patron in the New York merchant Luman Reed, who commissioned from him The Course of Empire (1836), a five-canvas extravaganza depicting the progress of a society from the savage state to an apogee of luxury and, finally, to dissolution and extinction. Most New York patrons, however, preferred recognizable American views, which Cole, his technique further improved by his European experience, was able to paint with increased authority. Although he frequently complained that he would prefer not to have to paint those so-called realistic views, Cole's best efforts in the landscape genre reveal the same high-principled, intellectual content that informs his religious and allegorical works. A second trip to Europe, in 1841-42, resulted in even greater advances in the mastery of his art: his use of color showed greater virtuosity and his representation of atmosphere, especially the sky, became almost palpably luminous. "Cole's remarkable oeuvre, in addition to naturalistic American and European views, consisted of Gothic fantasies (The Departure and The Return, 1837), religious allegories (Tbe Voyage of Life, 1840), and classicized pastorals (Tbe Dream of Arcadia, 1838). He consistently recorded his thoughts in a formidable body of writing: detailed journals, many poems, and an influential essay on American scenery. Further, he encouraged and fostered the careers of Asher B. Durand and Frederic E. Church, two artists who would most ably continue the painting tradition he had established. Though Cole's unexpected death after a short illness sent a shock through the New York art world, the many achievements that were his legacy provided a firm ground for the continued growth of the school of American landscape." Best Regards Don Barone |
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 15, 2004 10:12:52 GMT -5
Oldage  This picture is even more poignant as my old dear mother lies in an emergency room bed awaiting her call toward the light. She has pneumonia and I suspect she will not pull through but she is a fighter and will give it her all but she is weakened and an invalid and I question how much she really wishes to continue in this state. For she, like the 'man' in the painting, is approaching the end of her river's journey. She has lived a good life. She has spent all of it searching and studying toward The Truth yet failed to find it as some of us have. No mystical experiences and no enlightenments. Her whole life devoted to raising us and studying. Always studying. It was from her I learnt to reach out and question and learn and study. For she never stopped reading. She came so close to finding her answers but seemed to come up just short however I know she does not fear death but neither would she embrace it. Her time in this existance is almost up. Like the man in the painting I am sure things are starting to appear dark to her. However in the painting even though 'Guardian Angerls are coming down to meet him the actual river he is on does not end. Perhaps when the time comes we are given a choice or it is made for us. We can climb upwards and towards the light or perhaps we can choose to continue upon this darkened river and see if it once again emerges from a tunnel and we are reborn to try again. The pain of losing a parent is intense because we can never remember a time without them. The bond is very intense and the mind fills with the good memories of a wonderful childhood and the joy and love which filled our lives. And as we remember, the tears come. Don Barone |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 16, 2004 9:37:09 GMT -5
DEAR DON, thank You !! interesting details regarding the painter Thomas COLE. i did not know him, but i am satisfied, because i have'nt totally lost my knowledge in art-history (.... as it seems): my first impression and assessment of this some days ago still unkonwn (for me) painter was not bad ( juhu ! ). hope, i will have a more intensively look (and a comment) on these paintings ( btw: which are really full of an intensive esoteric and romantic athmosphere ) a little later ! if not: be so kind to remember me ! best regards: Bernie |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 16, 2004 9:45:55 GMT -5
Dear DON .. and Others : i was looking for a website, showing me some more of COLE's work. here is OLGA's gallery: www.abcgallery.com/C/cole/cole.html -- caution: click on the pictures to enlarge, but DO NOT CLICK on the "BUY" - bottom: it eventually costs your money ! best regards: Bernie |
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 16, 2004 10:52:49 GMT -5
Hi Don,
If I may, I share your trepidation concerning your mother. In the "oldage" painting the guardian angel below, its left hand palm down, the world of matter, its right hand palm up, an inviting gesture to go to the angel above, who in turn points to the lighted opening in the darkness.
Thanks for the paintings and accompanying text and information. The etheric structure in the "Youth" painting reminds me of the Taj Mahal, gateway to Paradise, and the river can also be seen as "the stream of consciousness" ever flowing toward the state of being wholly self-conscious. This I believe is the very reason for, and purpose of life.
Love
Charlotte
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 17, 2004 8:46:38 GMT -5
DEAR DON, now that i did read the sentences above, concerning the fight of your beloved mother, i wish you all the forces ( even from above ) you will need ! this in relation with the hope, that your good old Lady will have success in this dance on the very small and weak bridge between life and afterlife. but if SHE has to leave you , then i really hope, it will be in a very painless and dignified way ! thanks to God, that my mother and my stepfather were allowed to leave us (me) in a very human way. but i know other very worse and horrible circumstances as well. for example: two of my sisters died on terrific BIKE-accident, at the age of twenty ("petra" ), and seventeen ("sylvia" ). only one of some more sad stories ! DEAR DON: stay strong and upright ! (it is not easy, i know ! ) best regards: Bernie
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 17, 2004 8:49:27 GMT -5
Dear DON, .... these crazy icons beside the names of my deceased sisters PETRA and SYLVIA have been added by this text-processing tool itself, and naturally not by me ! (damned: i hate this ! ) best regards: BERNIE
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 17, 2004 22:01:30 GMT -5
Dear Bernhard ...
Thank you for your kind words. I have just come back from the hospital where I spent 4 hours. My mother is weak with pneumonia and yet another virul infection but is still clinging to life. The fates now hold her cards. I will accept what they decide.
I have also removed the icons from your other post.
Best Regards
Don Barone
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 18, 2004 4:52:46 GMT -5
Dear DON, thank You very much ! esp. for the deleting of these irritating, and really wrong placed icons ! and concerning Your mother: we will stay with Her and You ! Her fate is now in GOD's hand, ok, so i will pray to Him this evening ! not a problem for me, no no ! best regards from bavaria : Bernie
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 18, 2004 9:44:10 GMT -5
Hi Don,
I echo the latter words of Bernhard's last post.
Charlotte
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 20, 2004 12:45:37 GMT -5
Dear Bernhard and Charlotte ...
On The Power of Prayer ...
The fever from the viral infection was gone last night and they have removed her from her isolation room. Her chest seems to be less congested as well and she opened her eyes several times and seemed to recognize us and smile. There is still a long battle to be won but as my brother and I joked last night she probably looked death in the face and told it to get lost ! She is like that. She obviously isn't quite ready to cash in her chips yet. However it could change at any moment and I will keep you posted.
Many thanks for prayers obviously received !
In Love and The Light
Don Barone
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 20, 2004 13:33:21 GMT -5
Dear DON, --- how WONDERFUL ! !!  and thanks to our GOD and all GOOD HEAVENLY BEINGS, whereever they may be. as i promised to You, i prayed on thursday-evening, i asked JHWH if i am allowed to pray for your beloved mother, dear DON, and well, so i did, finally asking my personal guardian angels, and "petra" and "sylvia", "gretel" - my mother- , and others , to bring my prayer to HIM, with the help of Jesus !! DEAR LOTTE and others my have done the same ! i am very glad, and now i wish " DON's good old lady" all the power and mental stability and confidence She is still needing. and naturally i hope for a continuing support by our GOD ! ( - i do another prayer for Her - ) ok, meet on next monday ! Dear Don, now have a more relaxed weekend with fewer sorrows ! best regards from bavaria to You and Charlotte as well : Bernie |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 20, 2004 13:42:02 GMT -5
Dear DON, ... only to be correct ..: made my prayer still on Wednesday late evening, and not on thursday ! regards: Bernie
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 20, 2004 21:22:16 GMT -5
Dear Bernhard and Charlotte
It would seem that what I saw yesterday was perhaps a last gasp, a last desperate strugge to rejoin us. I visted twice today [just for short periods as it is very hard to watch her in the state she is in] and her condition had deteriorated quite a bit. I actually thought she was dead when I walked in. The doctor has told my brother that there is sodium in her urine and it appears that her kidneys are failing. The end [or we can hope a new beginning] can not be far off. The doctor told him to start preparing the family as she said my mom would probably not be coming out of the hospital.
So now the prayers have to be directed to a painless and sure journey straight toward the light that I speak about so often and that others have said is there waiting. It appears it could come at anytime and I would hazard the next phone call will be the last.
Strange how even a week to prepare makes the inevitable a touch easier to bear. Never one to hide them I have always worn my feelings on my sleeve and in this time of greatest sorrow I have a need to share my thoughts [as I always do] with any who would listen. For now there are no tears as the mind has managed to block out past memories which I am sure will come flooding back when the time is right and then a torrent of them will overflow. So in your way dear friends think of me and of her and all the others who will slip out of this existence along with her in all other parts of the world for this happens every day, every hour and yes probably every minute, year in and year out. And probably as she dies a new life in another floor called maternity and thus the cycle will go on. This cycle of life and death that only The Egyptians I feel truly understood.
Don Barone
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 21, 2004 9:54:02 GMT -5
Hallo Don and family . . . .
Charlotte
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 23, 2004 6:15:11 GMT -5
Dear DON, today morning i got wet eyes when reading these sad messages. hard times, yes, very hard times, to stand beside, seeing, trying to understand, trying to accept, and inspite of all trying to hope ! a torture to be there, and can not help, can not assist the old lady ! feeling ashamed while not being able allways to be present at her, because it's too hard to see. no, no : it is not a shame, it is only the human limit, your are confrontated with ! and you must not exceed this limit, because you are the head of your family, you must be prepared for the very hard days coming up ( i do not hope !!! ), and you have to save some portion of energy and positive, warm and bright feeling to share this with the members of your family, especially with your children !! we "old guys" still had seen some dark moments, but for the children it will become very hard and of a big emotional torture, so we have to embrace them in this sad situation, cause they are confrontated with that for the first time ! dear DON, You are RIGHT, if our prayers are not allowed to fight against death, then we should be thankful, when a beloved person is allowed to leave us in a very human and painless way, with dignity and able to say goodbye to all members of their family, and giving to us the last orders and greetings. we will see them all again, don' t worry ! i know: their ( some deceased persons ) messages to me were according to that: do not feel so depressed, do not be desperate, NO ! we are in another world, now it is yours to live a good life, enjoy life, live it in a modest and honest way, respect other beings, but do not allways visit the graveyard ! remember us, but you have to master your own life ! Jesus himself gave us a similar message !! BUT IT IS STILL HOPE ! the final decision is not made by us, so let us show strongness, and confidence in that, what GOD himself will consider to be the best for Her ! WELL, dear Don, knowing, that words can soon become too much, i will stop here, but staying with you and your family, still hoping the best ! best regards as always: Bernie
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Post by Don Barone on Feb 23, 2004 16:47:11 GMT -5
Dear Bernhard and Charlotte:
It is with the heaviest of hearts I must relay the passing over of my confidant, my teacher and my most trusted, unwavering and first friend, my mother who succumbed to, in most likelihood, simple old age this morning at about 8:45 AM EST. After a week long battle with a variety of mystery illness's her body returned, from where it had come from, her spriit which she had several times told me that she thought was floating over her home in Holland at the instant of her birth.
At the moment the emptiness is unfillable, the grief inconsolable and the pain unmanageable as I slowly come to terms with losing the guiding force in my life for almost all of it. She could have probably been anything she chose to become but decided instead to become a mother and left Holland to marry some Canadian soldier she met during the war for about three weeks and after an exchange of letters for two years moved over here to be married and to give me life.
We all have good memories of our youth and I remember nothing but a woman who always had time for my concerns, my comforts and my education. Her life had always been her three children and I am much richer for the experience.
We were called to the hospital last night at about 10:00 PM with word that my mom had deteriorated and would probably not make it through the night and so I sat with her on and off for about 8 hours, holding her hand and wishing away her pain and wishing that I could for once help her in her time of need as she had so ably done all through my life for me. But around 7:00 AM this morning it was obvoious that death was imminent and so my brother and I left, unable to see it through to it's final outcome. We left to get breakfast and a coffee but in reality we both left to get away from the nightmare which was our mother's death. I had hoped to find the courage to stay with her as she breathed her last but in the end was unable to call on the strength I needed for I felt that I could not have withstood the moment. She was for all intents and purposes no longer really with us and we had made our peace with her and ourselves. Moments after arriving home from driving my brother home and a quick visit there he called to confirm my mother's passing almost as if she knew she had 'seen' us and heard us for the final time in this reality. And now I will leave you with a quote from Janis Ian which struck a chord with my mom many years ago:
Pass the tea and sympathy
for the good old days long gone
Let's drink a toast to those who most
believe in what theyv'e won.
It's a long, long time till morning
plays wasted on the dawn
I'll not write another line
for my true love is gone.
And when I have no dreams
to give you anymore
I'll light a blazing fire and wait within the door
and throw my life away
"I wonder why ?" they will say
and now I lay me down to sleep
forever and a day
Pass the tea and sympathy
for the good old days are dead
Let's drink a toast to those who best
survived the life they led.
It's a long long time 'til morning
so build your fires high
now I lay me down to sleep
forever by your side
Don Barone
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 24, 2004 7:34:30 GMT -5
Dear DON, i am mourning with you and your family ! i do not have to write so much, because your sentences above are very impressing and full of such emotions and thoughts and and memories, i am not allowed to post any additional and displaced comment here. reading between the lines, you provided, told us many more sympathic feeling regarding your beloved mother. thanks to GOD, that our prayers may have helped, that she was allowed to leave this world, not being left alone in coldness and oblivion, but tenderly embraced by the members of her family, holding her hands all the time ! that's the way, it should be, when our time has come to walk away into the eternal light. i do not know your mother personally, but let me say GOOD BYE DEAR OLD LADY, and thankyou for your honest LIFE : giving us children like DON ! now i wish you a very good condition to overcome the next very hard and sad days, preparing the last ceremonies, and most important: to spent a warm and tender comfort to the children, who certainly are mourning for her good Grandma ! well, have to say best regards , with a slap on your shoulder, from man to man: Bernhard alias Bernie |
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Post by BERNHARD on Feb 24, 2004 8:55:01 GMT -5
DEAR DON,
was just this moment i noticed the picture of JULIA surrounded by her beloved grandchilds ! a nice and heartwarming picture, oh yes ! THANK YOU ! and so imagine now your dear JULIA saying to her whole family : " .... Don't stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there - I do not sleep.
For I am thousand winds that blow
and diamond's glint upon the snow.
I am the sun on ripened grain,
the soft and gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in morning's hush
I'll be the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight,
timeless stars that shine at night.
So, don't stand at my grave and cry
for I'm not there - I did not die.
.... " i got this poem right now by a young lady, working aside me, assisting me, being one of my most appreciated collegues ("sonja" ) ! with kind regards: Bernhard
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Post by Charlotte on Feb 24, 2004 9:07:57 GMT -5
Hi Don and family,
My heartfelt sympathy.
From a mysterious place we come and to mysterious place we go.
Peace be upon your mother . . . .
Charlotte
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Charlotte
heritage or relation ! at school i liked to paint and draw. ( i got nearly always the best note: "1" ) ok, but later, life had it's own dynamics, throwing me into computer-science and a mainframe related job ! best regards: Bernie 
and thanks to our GOD and all GOOD HEAVENLY BEINGS, whereever they may be. as i promised to You, i prayed on thursday-evening, i asked JHWH if i am allowed to pray for your beloved mother, dear DON, and well, so i did, finally asking my personal guardian angels, and "petra" and "sylvia", "gretel" - my mother- , and others , to bring my prayer to HIM, with the help of Jesus !! DEAR LOTTE and others my have done the same ! i am very glad, and now i wish " DON's good old lady" all the power and mental stability and confidence She is still needing. and naturally i hope for a continuing support by our GOD ! ( - i do another prayer for Her - ) ok, meet on next monday ! Dear Don, now have a more relaxed weekend with fewer sorrows ! best regards from bavaria to You and Charlotte as well : Bernie