One Day at a Time

“Hello! My name is Bennie and I’m an alcoholic.”
Shocked? You are not alone. Even some of our closest friends are just finding out and most of them are just as surprised. Other than my immediate family (including my brothers) folks are still questioning my decision to join Alcoholics Anonymous.

As soon as I decided to embrace sobriety I knew that I would eventually blog about it – the difficulty has been figuring out how and when to do it. After much thought and the fact that I happened to mention it in my monthly column at Hopeful Parents earlier this week it made sense just to put it right out there for the rest of the Blogosphere. For some a revelation like this might be too difficult or personal to discuss in public much less broadcasting it to a million potential cyber readers.

Long time “Ben Fans” know that we’ve never been ones to pull punches; our lives have been an open book from the very beginning of our exceptional journey which include some difficult not-so-pretty moments. Also every artist who is good at his or her craft is in a never ending search not for perfection but for Truth. Although “Truth” can be portrayed in one of my brightly colored seascapes or in my friend Conni Togel’s "whimsical" sheep paintings, it can just as well be disturbing or somber like Picasso’s Guernica or one of Van Gogh’s peasant paintings. As Oscar Wilde once wrote “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

In case you are now wondering, no, I am not one of those alcoholics. I haven’t been found sleeping under bridges at night neither have I disappeared for several days only to sober up in some jail cell. But that isn’t the definition of an alcoholic – it’s just an extreme example. My addiction is more subtle, hidden for the most part within the walls of our home. Had I taken my disease elsewhere, to that gutter under the bridge or some crowded pub filled with folks like me, most likely I would’ve spared my family (mainly Joan & Jessie) at least some of the emotional damage a selfish sot as me can unknowingly dish out.

I am only at the beginning of this new detour from my original life journey. Interestingly I am neither afraid nor ashamed of where I find myself. In fact I am excited. There is freedom ahead of me and I am anxious to discover it despite the hard work I will be facing in the coming weeks and months. There is also baggage to shed that has anchored me from moving forward with my life. Instead I’ve been mired in my anger, resentments, anxieties, and fear all of which collectively have stolen my joy.

Over the next few days I’ll share more about how I became addicted to fermented grapes and how an unexpected trip to New Orleans of all places brought me to my true senses. It is definitely an interesting tale and perhaps sharing my story will get the attention of another alcoholic so that he or she will seek the help so desperately needed.

On the Seventh We Go Here...

Once again it is the 7th day of the month so you'll find our regular column over at Hopeful Parents. If you haven't visited and explored our favorite "group therapy" site yet then today would be a good day to hang out. Better yet, become a member and get involved with the discussion forums! We promise it'll be worth your while.

Grins, Giggles, and Gratefulness

From one of our painting sessions this week where Ben was about to wipe the purple off the canvas which he didn't particularly like. Evidently this made him almost deliriously happy. I think all of us who have spent time with him painting would agree it's the best form of therapy available.

Another Ben & Bennie Painting!

Years ago I planted Cone Flowers in our front porch bed to attract butterflies and finches throughout the summer months. Since this particular plant is a perennial I thought it was a good choice to keep color in our yard without having to plant annuals several times a year. Little did I know how invasive these flowers are. Those tiny little seeds that fall from the center cone in the fall spread like wild fire and now Ben has a good look at Purple Cone Flowers in front of his window.

As you can probably guess my main contribution was "outlining" the petals of the flowers, shaping of the pot, and defining the leaves. And in he has one other addition that I must reveal that makes this painting particularly personal: the top left corner is chewed upon. You can actually see it in the image above. To be creative while teething can cause an artist an unusual hunger in perfecting his craft - either that or dad took his eyes off the young artist at work long enough for said artist to try out an acrylic sandwich.

Title: "Purple Cone Flowers"

Size: 8" x 10" canvas panel (standard frame size).

Suggested Price: SOLD

As always e-mail me via benwaddell at bellsouth dot net!

First Ben & Bennie Painting of 2010!

I've been trying to let more of Ben's own personal work show through in our collaborative pieces. We are quite pleased with this one in particular because I left the red petals of the potted flower completely intact! Over the past few days Ben has begun work on a few new canvases and I've finally made a serious effort to return to my won studio in preparation for this year's shows. The recent trip to New Orleans has obviously been an influence so I'm taking advantage of that while images and the experience are fresh on my mind.

Title: "Potted Flowers"

Size: "8 x "10 acrylic on canvas panel (standard frame size).

Suggested Price: SOLD

As always the first to contact me gets the painting. In full disclosure we will have two more available before the end of the week (both are flower themes) but I personally like this one the best. My e-mail address is benwaddell at bellsouth dot net. We can then discuss payment and shipping methods.