You might know Danny Boyle as a filmmaker. He's been a director, a producer, and a writer of some very memorable films like Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and 28 days later. Why is he here today? Along with being an accomplished figure in the filmmaking industry, he is a tremendous organizer of things like the Queen's Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. This year Danny Boyle organized a massive art installation drawing images of soldiers killed in the last days of WW I across 30 beaches in the UK. The images were drawn in sand at low tide and washed away as the tide came in. It was a moving exhibition to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice. The reason this exhibition caught my attention was it reminded me of a photo of my Great Grandfather who was killed in action on December 17, 1916, just two weeks after his 39th birthday.
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This colorful little shaggy dog looks about as frantic as I feel. It's a good thing he was already done and waiting. I'm a bit frantic because I did it again. I waited until the last minute. Does that ever happen to you? It seems like it's in my DNA. When you're busy, some things have got to give. Writing this week's newsletter is one of those things that slipped off my radar. I wish it didn't, but it did. I go through the week gathering ideas. When it doesn't matter, the ideas come fast and furious. I can't even beat them away with a flyswatter. I discover ridiculous, entertaining, and even funny things to write. I could talk about an island full of mosquitos. They really will be here long after any nuclear winter. Mosquitos, freaking cockroaches and Twinkies. Then, when it comes down to putting down my thoughts, the whole universe of ideas I've gathered all week scamper out of my head faster than I can down a shot of tequila. The hollow space between my ears becomes a cavernous and palpable void. It's like someone polishes the inside of my brain so well the good ideas slide out and leave me with nothing. There's nothing's left. Nada. I know they're hiding in there someplace. I know the empty corners of my mind collect those ideas like dust bunnies and save them for later. How do I coax those little beggars out? I've tried lots of things and made lots of promises to myself. I promise myself I'll start writing all these ideas down, but I don't. I promise myself I'll polish the blog post earlier in the week, but I don't. I promise myself I'll stick to my schedule, but I don't. Then come Thursday. Come Thursday, I'm scrambling like Fighter Command at DEFCON 1. Nuclear Attack Imminent. Batten down the hatches! GET WORDS OUT OF HEAD! "Get-er-Done." So, I'm coming to you from DEFCON 1. Battle Stations in my brain. Well, I know this is not what I planned to write. The one thing that I've discovered is, to get it out, I've got to write. Those ideas just don't have any life until I write them down. Good thing I love writing. I'll keep on keeping on and... Until next week, I wish you peace. Angela Moulton has a thing for birds. She paints hundreds of them. I like her other paintings too, but I really love the birds. I spend some time scrolling through Pinterest looking for interesting techniques, photos, or some inspiration from time to time. I ran across Angela on Pinterest. Her little bird paintings caught my eye. I started watching some of her videos to see if I could work out how she does what she does. She makes bold strokes and leaves them where they go down. There’s no fudging, smudging, or blending involved. Just, pick a color and lay it down. The resulting style is one that is playful and eye-catching. This style lends itself well to acrylic painting and oil painting as well. I like the freedom and decisiveness need to make this work. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I would recommend checking out her paintings. I hope the bright colors and freedom catch you as it did mine. You can find her in several places on the Internet, so have at it. As I leave the cactus and lizard state today on a big silver bird, I include this fun little cactus and lizard artwork. I dread the overnight flight from Phoenix to our tiny little island. First of all, when I get to the airport it will be a ghost town. All of the shops will be shuttered and locked and you'll hear the echo of the lone floor sweeper zipping up and down the empty lanes. I can hear the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly playing in the back of my head. My flight leaves Phoenix at 11:45 pm Friday and gets to Chicago at some ungodly hour in the morning. I have a three-hour forty-five-minute layover and then on to St. Thomas. Just over eight hours flying time and about five hours of airport time. Oh, Joy. I know I'm kicking-up a bit of a fuss about how long it's going to take, but we really are so lucky to be able to travel so far, so fast. Hell, I can get across the country on a direct flight in less than six hours. If I were flying in an SR-71, I could get across the country in just over an hour. The 1999 final flight of the SR-71 set a speed record when it flew from Los Angeles to Washington DC in one hour, four minutes and 30 seconds. That's moving. The SR-71 Blackbird Retired By Flying Coast-To-Coast In One Hour. I was also reading a fun article this week about an SR-71 pilot who clocked their ground speed at about nineteen hundred knots on a training flight. (1900 knots is 2,186 mph) Blackbird Pilot Trolls Arrogant Fighter Pilot with Ground Speed Check. Speeds like 2,186 mph are mind-boggling. Here's an example: It's 816 miles across the breadth of Texas from El Paso to Texarkana. That distance takes almost 12 hours in a car but in an SR-71 it would take about thirty-five minutes or about five percent of the drive time. My plane will only be going about 500 miles an hour max. So, as I lumber through the friendly skies in the early hours of Saturday morning at a mere 500 mph, I'll be counting my blessings and thinking of you. Until next week, I wish you peace.
Just check out this dog. Okay, I'm a sucker for a dog painting. Dogs grab my attention.
Life is good, even when it's hard. It was a hard week. Dad passed away on Saturday, October 20th. It's funny how something so difficult can bring folks together. He was ten days shy of 90 years old. I'm sure not all of them were great years, but overall, I would say, he had a good life. Dad was always concerned we do things "the right way." He was so encouraging and supportive. Many of us had fathers like that and some, sad to say, did not. Our parents make us what we are. My friend Malik has an interesting perspective. He says, "when someone close to you passes away, that person becomes a part of you ... and who you become from that point forward. Think about it; you are a new person, aren't you?" I like that. It's comforting. Anything I can say about dad would not do justice to the kind of man he was. He led a simple life that he loved. In the end, I know he had his good friends, his golf, and his loving family. He was a contented soul. Now the race, for him, is done, and he has laid down to rest. Rest well dad. I will miss him terribly. Thanks to all of you who make life good, even when it's not so good. Until next week, I wish you peace. Joe Cornelius calls himself Mural Joe. He specializes in painting murals. It took me a bit to find his real name when I started looking. Joe started out as a house painter but got interested in the process of creating large scale paintings. He uses regular old latex house paint to make his art. There's no special this or special that for him. Straight forward Sherwin Williams please (Sherman Williams features Joe on their website). He paints using three primary colors red, blue, yellow and white, and he mixes everything he needs right on the wall. Because latex house paint dries quickly he has developed a knack for working quickly. Joe works hard on his technique and easily explains everything in his YouTube Videos. I always look forward to new videos from him online. Check out one of his videos. If you want to look him up, he lives on the internet in these places.
I can't remember when I drew this. I don't think I was 30 years old yet and still in my "Conan The Barbarian" phase. Conan is one of those action guys. He charges in with muscles bulging, screaming something heroic, waving his sword over his head, off to save the world. He never makes mistakes. It was fun to find this drawing in a little box a couple of weeks ago, but something about it suggests the impatience of youth and inexperience. Crap, I'm not perfect! I've learned a lot since then, or have I? Okay - Confession time. I wrote a blog article this week, and it sucked. It was too long and too dense and too disorganized. It was truly yucky. I don't know why. It just happens. At the beginning of the week, I thought I had a great idea. I did the research. I put in the work. I started to feel good. I was getting ready to break out the champagne, kill the fatted calf, I was going to hit the publish button. Then, I read it over last night, and it had somehow turned ugly. Sometimes, what you do, regardless of the effort you put in, turns out to be swamp muck, pond scum, that horrible smelly stuff stuck to the bottom of your shoe. It got to the point where I was going to package it all up in a nice little wrapper and hit publish, and I had to scrap it. It all made sense when I was mulling it over in my mind. It was hilarious. It was a gem. But written down, it was a horrible hot steaming mess. How could I have ever thought it was so good? Rather than subject you to that long-winded drivel, I put my scimitar back in its scabbard and decided to write this instead. I chose not to draw more blood; even if the blood was my own. There's no need to worry; self-flagellation is not in my future. I'm not going to give myself fifty lashes with a wet noodle, park an anvil on my chest, or walk around wearing a hair shirt. I'm not going to join Opus Dai and start wearing a cilice. I'm going to suck it up and move on. I'm going to take it as a chance to recognize that, unlike most people, I'm not perfect. Sometimes things don't go to plan, and I'm always learning a lesson. When I was in the Marines, yes another Marine story - live with it, after every big exercise there was something called an After Action Report, I found a continuous theme in those reports was how successful we were at everything. Nothing was ever a failure. We didn't fail to "take the hill," but we learned sixty-seven ways we couldn't take the hill. The result was never the cause. The chopper didn't just fail to show; we discovered the command center request was wrong and worked to correct it, or sometimes the helicopters required better maintenance. Maybe, Maverick forgot to feed Goose his Wheaties in the morning. There was always something positive to learn, and, as always, an unauthorized fly-by. My diagnosis: Every cluster-f>@& is a learning opportunity. Prescription for Friday: A heaping big helping of relaxation. There will probably be a little bit of whiskey involved, some wound licking, and a pat on the back. Yay! I failed! Shhhh. Don't tell anyone! It'll be our secret. Then, back to the grindstone. I want you to have to best possible weekend you can. I'm glad I can be a part of it. Until next week, I wish you peace. I love dogs. I pretty much like most animals. Unfortunately, I don't get along well with cats. I've got allergies. I've got sniffling, eye itching, skin scratching horrible reactions without medication. I still find cats entertaining, as long as I can view them from a distance. With that prologue, I find this weeks artist has a way with cats. I love how she paints them. Yael Maimon is an Israeli artist who is currently working on a series of cat paintings that I love. Her paintings are loose and free, and she captures the cat's personality. She says, "Cats are now my first circle of close friends. I love them and they give me daily inspiration. Cats are very intelligent creatures, they are simply fascinating animals" She surely shows her love for cats in her paintings. Her internet presence is sparse, but there are a few places you can go to check out the cat paintings. If you're a cat lover, you'll love Yael Maimon. Enjoy her work. I love going to the movies. It's the way I grew up. In the late 1960s and early 70s, we'd go to The Fox Theater on Broadway in Redwood City. Pre-drivers license, we'd walk down Woodside Road, through Union Cemetery (it still makes my hair stand on end a bit thinking about it), up El Camino Real, then right on Broadway. Redwood City's changed, but the cemetery and the theater are still there. I remember seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, M*A*S*H, and plenty of other movies the Fox. It was a great place to go on "date." Remember those? Factoid - President Obama gave a fundraising speech at The Fox in 2012. Our pursuits were less high falutin'. We were escaping parental supervision and getting up to no-good. It wasn't criminal no-good. It wasn't bad-guy no-good, it was more or less useless annoying teenage angsty hi-jinx. Fast forward to the last six years. On St Thomas, you have to have something to do beyond boats, beaches, snorkeling, tiki bars, and rum. Without appropriate diversions, your liver would run screaming for cover at the closest rehab facility. I'm glad to report I've avoided cirrhosis and rehab. I credit the Caribbean Movie Theater. Our island movie theater was near the grocery store, Cost-You-Less, which, if you live there, you know, it costs you more. The theater there had first run movies cheap on Tuesday nights, and because I like cheap, it became an entertainment staple. I loved our little Tuesday night at the movies. Since Irma ripped the guts out of that plaza, I don't think Cost-You-Less or the theater have reopened. They hadn't when we were last there. I need to put my liver on suicide watch when we go back. Which brings me up to here and now, Monday we went to the movies. The big screen! The bright lights! That's entertainment! We saw "A Star Is Born" with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. I was impressed with both their performances. I thought it might end up being a cheesy knockoff of the 1976 Barbara Streisand / Chris Kristofferson flick, but it wasn't. I was surprised in Surprise! I enjoyed it, though I think Bradley Cooper may have been channeling his inner Kristofferson. Lady Gaga was unrecognizable. I thought Gaga would be a horrible actress. I was pleasantly surprised that she did an excellent job. I liked the look of this movie Gaga much better than her flashy blonde singer Gaga. At one point in the film, her manager wants her character to go blonde, and she says no, “I am who I am." Then, a few scenes later her hair is unreal bright orange. Well, I guess, at least it's not blonde. I'm sure there are plenty of critics who will rip the movie apart. Me, I liked it. I could relate. You know the aging, famous, drunk artist. It so hit home. Sniff sniff. I didn't realize there were three other versions of A Star Is Born. I only knew the 1976 version, and, of course, the one I just saw. There are also one from 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredrick March, and one with Judy Garland and James Mason from 1954. I haven't seen the pre '76 versions. I'll have to look them up. You might want to skip the saccharin love-fest interviews on YouTube. But if, like me, you can't help yourself, put on your cringe vest and click here. Nine out of ten dentists say sweet videos like this can rot your teeth. Make sure you brush your teeth afterward. Just warning. I still like the big screen. It's a different experience entirely. So, until I can afford a thirty-foot screen in my living room, or afford a house big enough to house said thirty-foot screen, I'll be seein' ya at the movies ... hopefully good ones. Until next week, I wish you peace. Bill Inman is an oil painting artist. He grew up in places like California, Montana, and Alaska, but calls Muncie, Indiana home now. His subjects lean toward nature, mostly plants and landscapes. His paintings are punched up with bright colors in natural surroundings. Inman is also a teacher with plenty of videos on YouTube. His style starts very loose and as the painting develops the brush strokes become more and more controlled until the picture he's painting comes into focus. It's kind of like looking through a camera, and the lens starts focusing more and more. His laid-back teaching style suits me. I enjoy watching him develop paintings. You can pick up an awful lot just by watching somebody. Bill says, "it's not about learning how to draw a line correctly, it's about learning how to see shapes." From that perspective, the seeing is more important than the drawing. Here's a video that kind of illustrates his style of painting. It's only about four minutes. Some of his videos go in-depth and last much longer. This one is a good overview. You can get a good feeling of his style from it. You can discover Bill's art many places on the internet, including the following: Bill also sells his art classes at www.masteroilpainting.com/
I love the desert and the desert mountains. I guess if you lived in Phoenix all your life you get used to seeing all this. Every time I look at the mountains, especially at sunrise and sunset around the White Tank Mountains here, I am awestruck. I can't believe how impressive they are. This big blue rock we live on is a beautiful and resilient place. It can bounce back from just about anything. Remember Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 It's much better now - or is it? We've come a long way since I was growing up with ecological awareness, and taking action, but, unfortunately, we continue to damage our world. As more and more sapiens crowd our planet, the problem isn't going away. It's getting worse. I watched the BBC feature documentary "Drowning in Plastic" last week. It is tragic. The conveniences we've produced by the introduction of plastics have had horrible consequences. The rubbish we dump in the sea affects every body of water on the planet. Even in the most remote places. If we continue to do this, I fear what the world will turn into; perhaps even in our generation. Brilliant minds are working on the problem, but, really, this needs to be solved by everybody everywhere. I don't have solutions. I wish I did. I'm glad where we live, we can recycle plastic, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of the problem. It's scary. The images of plastic pollution floating on rivers and stream and in the ocean are appalling. There aren't enough regulations in the world to stem the plastic tide. The resulting pollution beggars all description. Sometimes when I'm out for a walk, I try to count how many steps I can take without encountering some piece of trash. Sometimes there are stretches where I see a bit of garbage every two to three steps and sometimes I can get almost 20-30 steps before running into a bit of rubbish. If we continue the way we are, we will likely choke every living thing on this planet with plastic. In the end, we have to realize that we, us sapiens roaming the earth, will be the architects of our destruction. We are building our graveyard one stone at a time. The planet may recover from all this, but the pity is it might take a billion years. Survival of our species is not mandatory for the earth to survive, but if we want to survive as a species, we all need to all do our part. THoughts must become actions. People, in general, are so careless. It's just the way we are. We want the conveniences and we hardly ever think of the consequences. It's time we got our head around this and did something. Pick up a piece of trash on the road if you see it on the way. I will do my best, and I hope you do too. We've all got to think about what we can do to turn this tide of plastic. Picking up a piece of trash or recycling a plastic bottle may seem like nothing but our only real hope is if everybody gets on board. Remember what Gandhi said. "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." Everything starts with people the good and the bad. Be the good that happens to the world. We cannot give up. Until next week, I wish you peace. You never know what will draw you to an artist. Most of the artists that I've featured have been what the art world calls representational artists. To me, that means that you can recognize the images in artwork they produce. It represents a person, a rock, a plant, a landscape... Claire Desjardins is not a "representational artist," her work is purely abstract. She says, "my paintings make people happy, and that's a nice thing to make people happy." I'm not always a fan of abstract art but this artist produces work that I like. Claire's work expresses her passion and the expertise. Claire calls the process that she uses "intuitive". I think that means she "goes with the flow". She discovers what the paint does in the process and reacts to how that turns out. It's something you can feel. I like the colorful nature of Claire's paintings, and it doesn't hurt she's from Montreal! Claire lives about an hour north of Montreal in the most sublime setting. This little video will give you an idea where she lives and how she works. Making money as an artist is an art all in itself. The way artists sell is changing all the time, and you have to keep up with the times. Claire sells her art online in multiple physical places like art shows and galleries. I like how she embraces social media in what I feel is an authentic way. It's not all about selling your physical artwork though; there are other ways to profit from your artwork. Claire has partnered with the likes of Urban Outfitters' URBN - Anthropologie, and Microsoft Surface. She is now in the process of launching her first clothing line. The bright colors and abstract shapes make her clothes light up. She will soon be showing her work at "The Other Art Fair" in Brooklyn, New York November 8th-11th. If you're in the neighborhood, you could stop by to see her live and in person. I am delighted to introduce you to Claire Desjardins work. I hope you take the time to visit her on the web. You can find her at: I love art. I love good art.
I see a lot of what I think is excellent art and I look at stuff that I don't understand either. I am often lost for words. Talking about art can be frustrating, and if you're around people who know a lot about art, you could feel a bit intimidated. Art people are strange people. Critics are even stranger. They have studied the subject and seem to have a language all their own. Most of the time I don't understand them. Actually, I find some criticism of art downright horse-pucky. It feels like slimy, self-serving, creepy drivel you want to scrape off the bottom of your shoe. I hate thinking I'm not, "In the know." I don't want to feel out of the loop and art critics kinda make me feel that way. Until now. Just wait! Guess what? Now, you too can talk like a critic. If you get stuck for words to describe artwork, I've found the perfect website for you. I think it's been around for a while. It looks like it was coded in the 1990s. It's hilarious though. It will give you the right words to say to critique any piece of art. Never feel like an art outsider again! You can look a few phrases up and keep 'em for when you need 'em most. It's called "The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator." It generates an automatic critical response to any piece of artwork. The output is called a "Critical Response to the Art Product" or CRAP for short. All you have to do is enter a five digit number, and the generator does everything else for you. For example, if you enter - 62733 Here's your CRAP response: "Umm... the disjunctive perturbation of the gesture endangers the devious simplicity of the remarkable handling of light." If you enter - 07098 Your CRAP evaluation is: "I'm troubled by how the aura of the biomorphic forms threatens to penetrate the substructure of critical thinking." Enter - 12345 Yes, you guessed it, more CRAP: "With regard to the issue of content, the disjunctive perturbation of the spatial relationships brings within the realm of discourse the distinctive formal juxtapositions." If you have a couple of those phrases in your pocket, you'll never be short of words in any snooty, artsy atmosphere. Give it a whirl. You're bound to have hours of fun. Well, at least a couple of minutes of fun. Until next week, I wish you peace. If you think you might have some obstacles to overcome in the pursuit of your artistic endeavors, wait 'til you hear about this weeks artist. Not only is John Bramblitt is a painter and an author, but John Bramblitt is also blind. He lost the last of his sight in 2001 as a result of complications with epilepsy and Lyme's disease. But that hasn't stopped him. John says he can feel the colors. The textures of the paint are different. Cerulean Blue is creamy and luscious. Titanium white is almost the consistency of toothpaste. He describes the paints by their tactile qualities. I really have no idea how he does it but he does. I think what he does is good. There's a certain amount of chaos in life. You can make plans, but results are never guaranteed. Much of what happens is outside of our control. Like I've heard before, "$#!T Happens." We all know about Mr. Newton and his third law: "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Sometimes you try to do something good, and that equal and opposite reaction sneaks up and bites you. One of those equal but opposites fell in my lap last week. I took Tammie (the ex) to get a medical procedure to open the arteries to her kidneys. It was meant to make things better. After this simple surgery, the light was at the end of the tunnel. This surgery was another step in a long path, but there was light at the end of this tunnel. Blue skies and following winds were supposed to be in store. Happy days. Then came the unexpected. The stent doctor unintentionally ruptured the Illiac Artery. If you don't know that artery, it's okay, and I didn't know what it was it either. It's one of the big ones somewhere in the pelvis. You can lose a lot of blood in a hurry if something happens to that artery. In this case, a blood pressure reading (or lack thereof) of 60:40 set alarm bells ringing. Eventually, the pressure became unreadable. The cavalry appeared out of nowhere. I think I saw horses and muskets, and even heard a bugle or two. All of a sudden there was a trauma expert, blood transfusion expert, an anesthetist, a vascular surgeon, three nurses, a partridge in a pear tree, and a hundred commands flew around the room. Bells, whistles, and horns were sounding all over the place. If you believe Henry Fonda in "It's A Wonderful Life," a lot of angels got their wings that day. After the CT scan, a somber explanation of the gravity of the situation, and the proposed procedure, by the vascular surgeon, Tammie was spirited away down the hallowed halls of medicine for SuperGlue and stitches. I try to make the best decision possible with the facts I have in front of me. However, in this case, I'm happy there were competent people there to take the reigns. Apparently, in life-threatening situations no permission is necessary. All I could say was, "Go. Do. Now." The cavalry said, "Charge!" I called children, siblings, and friends, explaining the situation. Then, the long wait began. Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, round and round go the hands of the clock. Hours later, the surgery was over. The surgeon had performed her magic, and the recovery began. Lots of waiting. Losing all your blood like that wears your body down quickly even if you do get an immediate transfusion and your very-own team of superheroes. I cannot overstate how impressed I am with the crew assembled to save Tammie's life. They were professional and responsive. I'm confident everything they did everything needed. Glad to say Tammie is on her way home from the hospital. We'll get her organized. Friends, kids, and siblings were all in this last weekend. Tammie had ample support. I'm thrilled she is recovering, and she's now at home. Lots of friends and family are willing to help, so I'm confident she'll continue to improve. Until next week, I wish you peace. Cesar Santos has been called a "Modern Day Master." He uses modern and classical painting techniques to create interesting modern images that make you think. I think his work is quirky - which I like. There are throwbacks in his artwork to renaissance masters like Michelangelo and surreal painters like Salvador Dali. If you look at his art, there are many layers and symbols contained in it. It's a mixture of modern and classic. Santos was born in Santa Clara, Cuba in 1982. He graduated from Miami Dade College and continued his education in Europe where he honed his "Old Master" chops. You can find him featured in American Artist, Miami Dade Forum, American Art Collector, Artist Daily, and many other publications. He is also an enthusiastic and animated presenter who can riff about art at the drop of a hat. I like watching his art videos on YouTube. You can easily access his videos on his website as well. In this video, he talks about his show in Los Angeles called "Syncretism." Syncretism: "The amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought." You can find his work and his videos on the internet at the following places. Instagram Facebook Website Twitter YouTube If you want to buy or sell art online Saatchi has one of the biggest names there are. Saatchi is a big name in the art world, and you can visit their 70,000 sq.ft. gallery on Kings Road in London.
You can choose to display and or sell your work on their website too. It seems to be a great way to get noticed. Artists from more than 100 countries sell their work at Saatchi Art Online. The site gets over 12 millions views a month. One of the most impressive things is they organize and take on the responsibility of shipping items to your customers. The artist is responsible for paying for the shipping materials, but the buyer covers the shipping cost. Saatchi will send a shipping package, and you include the artwork and a certificate of authenticity. That is intriguing because I spend so much time in different places. As long as I have a person who can receive the shipping package and send it out, it can get delivered. I've struggled with how to get the artwork shipped. That problem has been hovering around in the back of my mind for quite a while. I plan on building a Saatchi Art Online profile. I'll let you know when I get it together. Who knows, one of you may be one of the first to buy an original Attenborough at Saatchi Art Online! The painting I included today was a result of a bit of experimentation. I felt stuck so I started dabbing paint on a canvas and then started making a few connections. I think turned out to be an interesting pattern. Sometimes you need to experiment. Being young is all about experimentation, but sometimes, when you're young, you do stupid things. Lots of those things are fun, or you probably wouldn't do them. Stupid thing, I loved to jump off the roof on my house when I was a teenager. I loved the feeling of falling, and I liked that fact that my body didn't break when I landed. I'm glad I didn't live in a two story house. That could have been a problem. With the ice hockey, football, baseball, and the whole Marine Corps frivolity I participated in when I was younger it's incredible I'm still in one piece. I used to love to run until my body became a collection of aches and pains to teach a lesson. This sixty-year-old corpus is much more delicate than it was at sixteen. Probably a result of the running and jumping and other silly things. When I stopped running, pounds started piling on. The more I weighed, the more all my parts began creaking and cracking. The more it hurts, the less I walked. I had to turn it around somehow, and I started to ride a stationary bike. That allowed me to build muscles in my legs without the pounding that happens when you walk or run. It doesn't bother me so much to walk anymore, and I am grateful for that. I suppose my knees have declared a moratorium on the pain. A couple of weeks ago we were in the Derbyshire Dales. There are plenty of footpaths and hiking trails there. I was feeling a bit froggy, and I jumped from one rock to another. You'd think it wouldn't be a big deal. I certainly didn't. It wasn't a big jump. Frogs jump further. I think I've even jumped farther if somebody sneaked up behind me. It was about a two-foot drop. When I landed, I felt a jolt of lightning from my ankles through my knees up into my back and straight through to the base of my skull. Landing from a jump of about two feet as a 240-pound creaky sucker is different than it was from my former spry 175-pound self. I kept a stern face on and promised that it didn't hurt at all. God forbid I should admit I did something stupid. I knew the ache would go away in a little bit anyway, and it did. The stuff that you do when you're young catches up with you when you pile on a few years. I have to live with the aches and pains caused by a misspent youth. And, I guess I'm not over making stupid choices quite yet. More on the decisions we make at a later date. For now, I will look before I leap next time and give my old, frail body time to catch up. Until next week, I wish you peace. There are a lot of artists who teach online, and I love artists who teach online. I think the artist I bring to you today is one of the best. Anna Mason is one of those artists I watch paint all day. Her ability to create realistic paintings using watercolors amazes me. In most of her videos on YouTube, she will walk you through how to paint realistically with watercolors. Sure, she sells online classes, and other tutorials, but her free videos are insightful to watch as well. Anna is a self-taught artist that lives and works in England. She says she teaches you to paint watercolors with WOW. Well, I believe her. On her website, she provides a video that explains how she teaches and there are plenty of examples on YouTube for you to look at as well. Anna has a presence all over the internet and I would encourage you to see her artwork and watch her videos. I hope you find them as entertaining and informative as I do. I ran across Daily Paintworks the other day, maybe about two weeks ago. I'm surprised I didn't see it earlier. It is a very well organized site and easy to navigate. It's a great place to find new original art. I spent hours looking over the content of the site for a couple of reasons. First, I just like looking at art. Secondly, this site provides the ability for artists to create fully functioning websites using their technology. You don't have to be a member to buy art there. When you buy a painting, it is directly between you and the artist. I like that. Daily Paintworks is a small family run business. I'm sure I'll be doing a bit more digging around this site to see how it can align with what I want to do. I drew a lotus flower this week. I love pointillism. The whole process is so methodical and meditative. It helped me take my mind off the fact it was time to pack our trash. In the Marines, whenever you move from one place to another, you'd be given the order to "Pack Your Trash." We'd scurry all our belongings into one spot and stuff it into our sea bag (duffle bag to you Army guys). Packing up and leaving one place for another is one of my least favorite activities. Marines call it the "Sea Bag Drag." It represents the end of something grand and gets me feeling a bit low. Maybe that's why this edition is a bit late. Especially since this summer, in England, has been one of the best summers ever. Our travels have taken us to friends in Cornwall, London, Wensleydale, Whitstable, Derbyshire, Flore, Doncaster, Chorleywood, Welwyn, Newmarket, Oxted, and, of course, St. Evenage. We've walked lots of miles, drank new cocktails (corpse reviver is a must try - check out the recipe here), and had tons of smiles We've visited castles, fields, hills, dales, moors, and farms. We got to dog sit and lounge around a bit. Though I have kept up drawing and painting a bit this summer, there has been so much going on I found it difficult to ferret away enough time. It's been a jam-packed summer. I need to make art a bit more of a priority. Time is one of those finite things we have in life, and you don't know how much of it you're going to get. Priorities are a tricky thing. I keep having to remind myself if you line up your preferences and priorities with your passions, you're more likely to be a happy camper. So I guess I've got some alignment to make. Gradually, baby steps I guess. It is drudgery to close up shop here, but we do have fabulous times to look forward to as well. We'll be heading to Dayton Ohio on Tuesday. I love catching up with friends and family when I get into town. Then, a couple of short weeks later we'll be able to catch up with dad in Surprise, AZ. (I love the name of that town) Dad's going to be 90 at the end of October. Surprise! If you see us passing overhead in one of those big silver transatlantic pterodactyls, give us a wave, we'll be waving back. I'll be coming to you from the USA next week. Until then, I wish you peace. If you like color, if you want bright colors, you're going to love this weeks' artist. Her website is saved in my browser favorites and has been for quite a while. I go back and look at her painting a lot. They please me. Linzi Lynn is a self-taught artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. Linzi studied theater when she was young, and she says, "both visual art and theater are forms of creative expression, inspiration, and entertainment." They are the different sides of the same coin. Linzi is a self-taught artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. She studied theater when she was young, and she says, "both visual art and theater are forms of creative expression, inspiration, and entertainment." They are the different sides of the same coin. I tend to agree with that. We all need ways to express ourselves in this life. Finding a way that suits you can be a very rewarding discovery. I'm not much of a connoisseur when it comes to theater, but I do know I like how she throws down an expressionistic painting. She shows her work in galleries in and around Los Angeles. I admire how she creates exciting and colorful paintings. She sells her artwork online at venues such as Saatchi Art Online, iCanvas, Fine Arts America, and Redbubble. You can also see her art on her Website and her Facebook page. Put away the silverware! Lock the dog in the closet! Douse the party flames! Kill the fatted calf! Roll up the sidewalks! Stop the fun IMMEDIATELY! Labor Day is coming! The last hurrah of the summer. The final gasp of heat, sun, and relaxation. Hold it - are we school kids? Don't we work all year long? Weren't we working this summer anyway? Some of the arcane traditions that go along with Labor Day make it a weird holiday. I once lived at an apartment where they closed the pool every year on Labor Day. It didn't matter if it was fifty degrees or a hundred degrees, the cover went on, and the summer was over. I hate when that happens. As Andrea says, "Lid's down. Lost the Key." Or - you can't wear white shoes after Labor Day. I love this video from the film "Serial Mom" - I hope you enjoy it as well. "You can't wear white shoes after labor day." To me, Labor Day is the time when you put away childish things and focus on the real work of living as if living isn't working anyway. As for me, I want to bring back those ..."lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. You'll wish that summer could always be here." Why should that be a celebration? Why should we say hurrah to the cessation of fun - to give up the light? Do not go gentle into that good night, ...; Rage, rage against the dying of the light - Dylan Thomas. If you want to affect the world, please change the arbitrary rules by which we live - whatever they are. There is a constant debate in this house concerning the number of official holidays existing in England and the United States. This discussion ends here. Yes, I lost. The scores are in and it looks like England drew the short straw. Score United States England 10 08 It got me thinking that it might be good take a look at holidays in both countries. You can choose your own or take them all. It's up to you. Well - not really - it's kind of up to your boss, isn't it? Retired people have all those days off. Wouldn't that be a hoot! In the United States, with a couple of exceptions, U.S. national holidays target things we want to remember. They happen about once a month. Mostly, they're a result of horrible things we want to remember so they never happen again. In England, workers have days off that commemorate religious events during the year. Mostly, they surround Church of England religious events. They're called "Bank Holidays" here. Here's a recap list for this year: England and United States Monday, 1 January New Year's Day This is arguably the best time to invade any country as most everybody has a hangover or creaks out of bed up late or both. It should be called "Potential Country Invasion Day" or "Potential War Day." You can treat it as a day of optimism and hope or you can just say good riddance to the year that was. United States Monday, January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Very cool guy. I'm glad Martin has his own day. He deserves his day, but it also reminds us how horrible we used to be to one another. It's an excellent time to remember how far we've come and how far we have to go in how we treat each other. United States Monday, February 19 Washington’s Birthday I thought this had been changed to Presidents Day because Abe gave up his birthday to Martin, and, of course, Martin deserves his day. We celebrate George Washington who led the troops in the Revolutionary War and Abraham Lincoln who led the Civil War. Okay -perhaps some good came out of those conflicts. I suppose we celebrate the fact that we don't want to fight those wars again. George and Abe are heavy hitters in history, and I reckon they deserve the day. England Friday, 30 March Good Friday Isn't every Friday good? Well, except for Friday the 13th maybe - It should just be called Friday and we should do it every week. Cheers to the four day work week! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Drinks all around. England Monday, 2 April Easter Monday We don't do Easter in the United States - it might offend somebody so if you can't please everybody - please nobody. There is a separation of church and state in the United States, but it doesn't stop the president from hosting an Easter Egg hunt or saying God Bless America. In England, the Queen is head of the church and what she says goes. Its just a name and well isn't Easter on a Sunday anyway. Don't we always get Sunday off? This one isn't about war, but it's about this guy who was horribly beaten, stuck on a cross, then, came back to life. Oh my - it would be nice to have Easter Monday off in the States, but well we already have ten holidays. England Monday, 7 May Early May Bank Holiday I like this - no reason - just cause it's early May - I think that pesky pagan May Pole has something to do with it. It does have something to do with May Day which is really the 1st of May. May Day was originally oriented around pagan practices, and there's usually singing, dancing, cake and much merriment to be had. I suppose there's tea, scones, and whiskey as well. Oh well - I guess "needs must." United States - Monday, May 28 Memorial Day - Yup - remembering people who died in a war, the families the wars ripped apart, the broken and battered human remnants of war. This, we should not forget. England - Monday, 28 May Spring bank holiday - Yay! Spring United States - Wednesday, July 4 Independence Day - Yup - Fill your cup with stars and stripes we get to remember the war. Actually, July 4th was when the Declaration of Independence was signed. What ensued from that document was a war. We remember that bold step that lunged us toward independence. This is the declaration that launched a nation. I got some folks to celebrate the 4th of July in England once, but I guess they just thought it was a good time to get rid of those pesky colonials. Me, I'm just happy we all get along again. Except for that language thing. We have differing thoughts about that one. "Two nations divided by a common language." England Monday, 27 August Summer Bank Holiday No labor today cause it is summer outside. Well - summer started on 21 June (in the US at least, in England it starts on May 1). Okay, we'll call it End of Summer Bank Holiday. But summer doesn't officially end until September 21st. I guess it's just time to close the pools and start putting all those white shoes away. United States Monday, September 3 Labor Day Remembering the labor conflict - social conflict - not a war - but - well people were angry with each other. President Cleveland sent in troops to quash a demonstration where a couple of people got killed. That action made folks angry. Because people got killed and it was an election year Grover Cleveland declared there would be a Labor Day. He lost the election anyway - Good going, Grover. United States Monday, October 8 Columbus Day Remembering an adventurer. An Italian guy who conned three ships and a bucket of doubloons from the King and Queen of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella had a big DIY project in Granada since they acquired a massive palace from the folks who built it. To renovate, they needed more gold and silver to kick people out of the castle and put some polish on the fixer-upper - War & Slaughter. United States Monday, November 12 Veterans Day This is remembering those who fight the wars. I, personally, like to reflect on what these people do. They step into harm's way, so we don't have to. United States Thursday, November 22 Thanksgiving Day Remembering that wonderful time when the Pilgrims (displaced people from England) celebrated their good fortune with their benefactors (the native folk). This lead eventually to the carnage of the displacement of the people who showed up in North America first. England and United States Tuesday, December 25 Christmas Day Remembering someone who was born in a stable. The king, at the time, promptly decided that all children in Bethlehem under one year old had to die. Carnage ensued. An angel warned this intrepid young traveler. He escaped to Egypt, thereby surviving to die on a cross under Pontius Pilot. Then there was the Inquisition, the crusades and, well, mainly - war, genocide, and a little baby. Ahhh. England Wednesday, 26 December Boxing Day Not a US holiday because, in the U.S., we don't use boxes. We're just those radical upstarts. Most people in the U.S. take this day off anyway. "In England, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year." It seems like all business stops from the week before Christmas through New Year's day. Most people are in a bit of a food coma on this day and probably couldn't work if they wanted to. Nevertheless, I love Boxing Day because it's a really, really cool name for a day. We should celebrate our labors, and we should take time off, and we should remember the horrible things that happened in history, so we just don't do them again. Until next week, I wish you peace. I brought all my painting gear with me. All I really had time for was to draw a couple of sketches in the Derbyshire Dales. The sketch to the left I did while contemplating the Dales with a nice cold beverage in the garden. Just over the fence - peace, and tranquility. You see, last week we got to spend some time walking with friends the Dales. That involved transporting both ourselves and some of our belongings from point A (Stevenage in Hertfordshire) to point B (Ashbourne in Derbyshire). We packed up the car and were off to our little getaway in the country. We thought it would take about two and a half hours to drive the 125 miles, give or take the inevitable wrong turn or two. Our trip started out as planned, but quickly turned into alternate routes, map gazing, and some arguing with the SatNav about directions and the quickest route. Where is this silly machine taking me this way? Was that a left turn or a right turn? (your side/my side) What the hell do they mean - "slight left turn"? Watch out!! Get off the curb!! Was that close or what? Who the hell built these roads? Why did we choose to drive during rush hour? Hold it, it's not rush hour! Why are we on the M1 to begin with? Shouldn't we have taken the A1? It would have been faster, wouldn't it? Geez, I can't wait to get out of this car and have a beer. At one point we were playing dueling directions (android vs apple) - who will get us there faster? Was it the American Apple GoogleMaps (American accent) or the English Android GoogleMaps (English accent). I think the real honest to goodness paper map won the day. Five hours later, with no remaining nerves or whits, we arrived at our destination. It was a trial. The road and I have, of late, had a trying relationship. I suppose it's not the roads as much as the situations they create. Some of it has to do with road works, potholes, and roads so narrow you'd have trouble passing one starved boney horse past another going in the other direction. There are pull-offs, lay byes, and unsigned passages but my real grievance is with the people. Sure, I have the occasional brain fart and do the wrong thing. Honestly, I think some people on the road make it a point to make life difficult for others toing and froing on the same patch of public earth. I have some pet peeves about drivers and other idiots. This situation was just one of those that brought flashbacks and not the cool colors and shapes of the 60s and 70s. They are much more unnerving. Because I was thinking about it, I thought I would bring up some suggestions for these caustic concrete cretins that make my life so difficult on what was supposed to be a long and relaxing drive. Just a little rant (Don't worry - all suggestions attempt to maintain a PG rating).
Oh yeah, one last thing - don't read your emails/texts at 70 miles an hour. You deserve what happens to you but others don't so put the phone away! Thank you - Until next week, I wish you peace. I'll try to grab a bit too. |
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