https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/electra Electra Good News, Bad News MAUREEN MCCARRON FEB 01, 2025 Share Last week I mentioned I planned to do an American Bald Eagle but I wanted to rework Electra first. Which I did. What was interesting was how when I gave her that title earlier, it came to me much the way they usually do without my doing a lot of research. This time, I looked up The Harpies in Greek mythology, the piece is based on a harpy eagle, and learned that Electra was their mother. Perfect - and there I was, thinking it was about mourning. I sold two owls this week, one a giclee, the other was Orpheus, the painting below. I did him during a difficult time two summers ago. My kitchen had flooded so the floor was ripped up for months leaving the apartment in chaos, and my studio was jam packed with things that didn’t belong in there. I remember working on Orpheus, squeezed into a chair at my desk, while the contractor was pounding and sawing and crashing around in the other room. Much like now, I am grateful I can paint to maintain sanity. The bad news, besides everything else that’s going on, is I am getting on a plane next week and it is hard to stay calm. There is a Buddhist parable I hang on to at times like this about a woman being chased by tigers. She climbs over the side of a cliff and is clinging to a vine to escape them only to find there are tigers on the ground below her as well. She also sees a rat chewing on the vine and knows it will eventually break. Then she notices a cluster of wild berries growing next to her. Tigers above, tigers below, she eats the berries and thoroughly enjoys them. In other words, Maureen, stay in the moment. Eat those berries. Onward. Maureen McCarron is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.