Category: Creativity

You all must know that my webmaster picks out the pictures to go with my blog when I don’t have an illustration.  I am going to tell you how great he is. Most webmasters do not help you manage a blog, but mine does. It is so helpful to have second pair of eyes look at this thing before you do.  I don’t know what this would look like without him helping me.

I hope that what I say every day helps someone spark new ideas that they can use forever. That is my biggest hope, and Phil Lewis ( web guy) helps me get the message across in a way that someone can use. This is the embodiment of synergy. We work together to make a new thing. The future ideas I have are to do an interactive video and several youtube links to illustrate ideas even better.

The better I get the big idea, the better you will get it and there is a whole world out there of new ways of getting it. So cheers to Phil Lewis for all he has done in making this blog more user friendly.

There is a lot of junk food for our brains that we take in that we aren’t even aware of. Every time you watch a mindless television program or movie you are filling your brain with information that is taking up space where good food should go. It not only doesn’t feed you but it makes you fat. A fat brain is one that is clogged up with thoughts that will not help you do one thing but spin in a circle and waste time. Imagine an hour glass with sand constantly flowing out. Well that is our life. We don’t even know how much sand we have.

Just as our bodies need to get proper nutrition to thrive so do our brains. Spiritually, physically and emotionally. What will I feed my brain today? Good dreams and visions and inspirational messages or junk food. You only get out what you put in. Have a no-media week and fill that precious time with precious things. Write, read, dream, live, grow, strive, fight, fly and fill up your bank account with yes.

Every time I finish a show I think “Now what am I going to do?”

I have painted about 500 paintings in the last 10 years and they are all girls. You would think I would run out of ideas. How many girl paintings can a person do.  Apparently I can do more.

I read in a medical journal once that the more you know the more you can know. Each thing we learn is making a new path in our brain and expanded the capacity to learn even more. With that thinking, I will never run out of ideas for paintings.

This is what just happened to me. I had no clue what I was going to do so I stared at the canvas and then it came to me to use what I already had. The rest is just filling in the blanks. The big thing is the main idea then elaborate that idea into a series. Now I cant wait to get to the studio again instead of dreading it. Even though I knew that thing about your mind always expanding, I forgot it in the midst of dread.

I am telling you this just in case you are dreading starting something new. Your brain will not let you down. It is wonderful and marvelous thing we are given and everybody has one.

What does success mean? Most people think it means getting someone to agree with you. They “buy” your product.

When an art show sells out the first night of the show, well that is big success, right?  I think that is wrong. Success does not depend on others agreeing with you that you are good and that is what selling out is all about. Everybody wants to get something that is seeming to be a hot item. Then after that happens everybody treats you differently, as though you are amazing and your work is way way better than everyone else that did not sell out the first night. That is the way the world works.

But the artist should not be a part of that thinking or you will be ruined. An artist should not care what happens to his work. His job is do the work that only he can do and let the chips fall where they will. The artist is successful if and only if he does all he can to be the best unique artist he is. Only you know if you are successful or not. You are not better or worse because somebody else did or did not like your work enough to buy it. If you know this you will be free.

Never let someone else tell you what you are. That is between you and God.

The voices in our head combined with all the noise we experience in our daily life are tremendous. No wonder it is hard to concentrate.  Even 50 years ago there was way less noise to contend with.  When I was a kid no toy made sounds now all of them do.

The radio was on sometimes but not all the time like it is now in my house. Even if you don’t watch television, the computer is probably worse as there are no commercials, so you keep it on longer. Such easy access to noise.  The result is difficulty in hearing what we need to hear to perform whatever it is we do with our lives.

Our creative group did a two week of silence from all media. Let me tell you it was hard at first. No radio in the car, no music in the background. Just silence. The result was we all soared in our creativity. Time materialized out of nowhere. It was wonderful.

I have an idea to have a quiet bed and breakfast place. I also want it to be so beautiful and different that it gives you a million new ideas. And I want there to be tons of journals to write in. A place like no other place to get away from all the noise.