Resolution

I resolve to remind myself daily the words of Wallace Wattles:

KNOW that there are countless millions of dollars' worth of gold in the mountains of the earth, not yet brought to light...

KNOW that the money you need will come, even if it is necessary for a thousand men to be led to the discovery of new gold mines tomorrow....

Never look at the visible supply.  Look always at the limitless riches in formless substance, and KNOW that they are coming to you as fast as you can receive and use them.  Nobody, by cornering the visible supply, can prevent you from getting what is yours.  

You reading this - YOU - have everything you need right now to live the life of your dreams - now live it!

Happy New Year!

Understanding Manifestation (Part III)

(Part I & II Below) 

Why am I telling this story? In a way, I am trying to understand what works and what doesn’t work by tracing through my own thought processes. I don’t want to appear to have all of the answers. In fact I’m hoping that others will be inspired to explore their own inner-workings and perhaps share stories that will help us all to understand how to affect positive change in our own lives and the lives of others. I believe the times that lie ahead will be intensely challenging and that only through patience and understanding will we be able to use this ‘power’ of the human mind. In the piece I am working on ‘Ogallala’ – it is a story of a vast amount of water that existed directly under the feet of those who suffered the Great Depression and the terrible dust storms. The analogy and relevance is so powerful, that right within our grasp are the tools we need to solve any problem – it is a ‘Law of Nature.’ As I mentioned earlier, my experience with actively ‘manifesting’ uncovered enough direct evidence for me to say without out doubt, thought directed action is real and can be actively applied.        
After listening to Napoleon Hill, I realized a few of my mistakes. While I wanted to be an artist contributing my art to the world, I didn’t fully believe it was possible. I would always ‘do the math’ in my head thinking, okay if I did this piece I could probably get this much – hmmm, this much times x number of pieces a year, hmmm, could I do that many? Would I be emotionally and physically drained, could I find that many people who would buy that much? So on and so forth. So, my first ‘work’ was to stop myself from that kind of thinking, literally refuse to engage in it. When it began in my mind, I would stop in mid-sentence and imagine what was possible instead. My second big mistake was thinking I had to be ‘like’ somebody. While it is important to have role models, I think it is equally important (if not more) to begin to realize you must be yourself – you and you alone are unique, and like a person I met on Twitter (Maria Andros) taught me – there are thousands of people who have waited their whole life to meet you.
The speed of ‘flow’ is uncanny. Within a day or two of beginning this transformative thinking the little post arrived of the firefighters search. I read it and the floodgate of visions opened up in my mind. I literally ‘saw’ the unveiling of the final piece. I wrote back to the unknown person, in almost one draft – and I was very clear to them that I had never done a bronze sculpture in my life. I had done some sculpting, I explained, but I ‘knew’ I could do this. That one line had significance as I discovered later – and further reinforced the concept ‘be yourself.’ On many occasions throughout the process I learned over and over again that it was me being honest and direct that brought me to the point of delivering my first sculpture to NYC on a beautiful October day – and consequently some fear had overtaken me afterwards that caused problems, but also a significant discovery. I am sorry to keep stopping the story but I am advised not to make a blog post too long and I’ve already blown that rule time and again - [To be continued…]

Fear

Fear paralyzes.

Fear makes real the problem not the solution.

Fear is the belief that a situation has power to harm, not enlighten or purify.

Fear is literally the suspension of the human mind to solve any problem no matter how large.

Fear is what causes stress, strain, greed, anger, violence, hunger, aggression, worry, pain.

Fear is the root of all evil in the world.

Fear inspires action without thought.

Fear makes what is unwanted, permanent.

We have many futures before us -

The one we choose will depend on how many of us refuse fear.

Refuse to believe that any event can't be solved.

Accept the idea that even the worst things that happen can be invitations to greatness.

Greatness is accepting into your mind that you can and will overcome any obstacle if you refuse fear.

Be great today - 

Refuse fear.

Quick Story On Serendipity

Many years ago a book was published on using the mind more effectively in the solving of problems.  It was sold new in a book store, bought by some curious mind.  Read, cherished, discarded.  Ended up in a yard sale for 25 cents.  My wife's friend was wondering by, picked it up, lent it to her husband.  I happened to see it on his desk, paged through it and was so moved I bought it.  Without realizing,  I had it on my desk yesterday.  A colleague noticed it, picked it up and randomly thumbed through to a page that was discussing the exact thought he was struggling with that day.  He smiled, shook his head and put it down.  I wonder how many lives he will change from that one small paragraph.  Everything you do matters.

Understanding Manifesting (Part II)

(Continues from Understanding Manifesting - Part I Below)

     I want to reinforce the groundwork of my ‘exploration’. My first memory in life, I ‘woke up’ drawing a whale at around the age of four. I had always thought of myself as an artist – the vision of being a professional artist had been engrained in me my entire life. I could see the goal and mentally experience the goal – all of the requisites of ‘manifestation’. Year after year, I would achieve juried shows, art awards and other recognition from grade school, through high school, college and beyond. But these achievements cost money. For example, getting into a prestigious juried show means you have to spend money to make a piece. Actually it is lots and lots of work of which you select one or two. Then there is entry fee with no guarantee of getting in. If you get in, you have to get the work there and back – the larger the work the more cumbersome that is. Odds are against a work winning a cash prize or being sold. This is similar, I imagine, in sports like tennis or golf, where for many of the competitors you are paying and paying to be in play.
     When I stumbled on Napoleon Hill, it was an audio CD. Listening, I started to realize that my whole life structure was built around an idea that I could not actually make a living from art. It was very subtle to me (although not to a trained observer). I had in my mind a ‘model’ that I would do ‘real’ work and this income would allow me to keep making art. I’m not just talking about having one job – I’m talking about doing all kinds of things like getting involved in real estate, pursuing other degrees to enhance my salary – in essence, a lot of activity other than going straight at the process of being a professional artist. I kept doing one job after another to be able to afford creating art. This was exhausting, distracting and counterproductive. One key idea I learned from listening to the Napoleon Hill tapes was the concept ‘faith.’ I had not heard it explained quite so well. Faith, as I now began to understand, believes that if you give yourself to your passion you cannot fail. That the universe is in fact ‘designed’ to provide every tool one needs to achieve whatever one commits to and believes, positive or negative. When I finished listening, I remember looking interior to my own thought processes and realizing there was the obstacle. I thought in my mind that I would abandon all other pursuits and ‘give’ myself to my art completely. This process was so abrupt and immediate as to be unbelievable in retrospect. That very day, I received a small, non-descript e-mail posting ‘firehouse looking to honor four men lost on 9/11.’ I read that posting, and the image of this project in its completion poured into my mind. When I replied I had little idea that this ‘manifestation’ process would lead to the deepest, most sustained pain I had ever experienced. That it would shatter my previous understanding of the world and myself. In this process I began to see that ‘manifesting’ didn’t really mean creating a laundry list of all the things I think would thrill and then they would appear. Rather, manifesting, at least for me, began to mean participating in the process of discovery and allowing things to come into my life. It was then that true ‘miracles’ began to occur. [To be continued…]

Give

Give yourself to your passion - only there will you find greatness.

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck." - Dali Lama

Manifesting - Tips & Tricks

My post 'Understanding Manifesting' - will be a few installments discussing my experience over the last few years with positive visualization and manifesting - road blocks, highs, lows - why I think I got stuck and why I think sometimes the worst events could actually be invitations - if only you know how to look. I'd love to hear if you've got some tips / tricks - please post.

Understanding Manifesting (Part I)

If you haven’t been made aware of manifestation and the power of the human mind to create the world around you then you’ve been living under a rock that, consequently, you manifested. I was awakened to this idea a few years ago – about two or three now – and my experience in wrestling with this concept has had the most profound impact on my life but not in ways that I originally thought. I want to preface this summary by saying that through careful exploration of my past I began to realize the truth in the concept that every success I had, began with an idea, a strong magnetic attraction to an idea that I could and would accomplish a particular goal. I was not aware of how powerful ‘seeing’ a goal as accomplished could be. Becoming totally aware of the process and working with it consistently has created an interesting result, but not all ‘peachy’ as some ‘guru’s’ would have you believe.
Starting with the positive, my first foray into positive visualization began back around December of 2005. At that time I had accomplished what would be considered, by all objective measures, a lot. I completed two Master’s degrees – one in fine arts from Columbia University (a goal I had as a 12 year old) and another in imaging science from RIT. My paintings have been selected in several competitive juried shows up and down the east coast but despite all this – I felt completely and miserably ‘stuck.’ Why? To be exact I imagined that after I finished all of those other intermediate goals I would then be a professional artist earning my living solely by making art – and lots of it – large pieces in museums and being part of collections around the world. As the years dragged on from completing my MFA and working as a color scientist, then pulling myself through a mind crushing Master of Science at RIT, raising a family, I continued to feel – and this is a crucial point – like an abject failure, and more so as each year passed on. I know that is the height of ingratitude – but I think regardless of what someone is accomplishing – if it does not match the ‘dream’ of what ‘success’ is, they can live a life of ‘quiet despair.’ OK – I know I said this would be positive but I wanted to lay the groundwork – I stumbled upon Napoleon Hill and the Power of Positive Thinking. I studied it voraciously and was unpleasantly made aware that I was the obstacle – I was what stood between me and this ‘vision.’ Nothing else – not my financial situation, not my parents, not the government or Wall Street or crippling student loans – just me and my relationship to my ‘vision.’ So back to the timeline – in December of 2005 I committed fully to this power of manifestation – focusing solely on the ‘goal’ – by October of 2006 I was delivering to NYC a bronze memorial sculpture honoring firefighters who died in the September 11 attacks. The Holland Tunnel was shut down to bring this piece in. I always have to pause when I think about that – I will never forget making the turn into the Holland Tunnel – looking back at the toll booths and realizing there was a police officer in every single bay holding back the traffic – thousands of cars – to make way for a sculpture (my first bronze ever) I had made. The story was on the front page of several large newspapers on the east coast and on all the local news stations. I thought, oh my, there is something to this positive thinking. So, what did I do? What would you do? I imagined more. I got even more serious about this thing and I began a journey of writing my goals, visualizing them, saying them out loud – I was like a crazy man totally committed to a process of ‘imagining’ things into existence. Well in all honesty, my impression was that the proverbial door closed again. Why? [To be continued…]

Whatever

Whatever you think you are capable of - double it, and you're still less than halfway to your actual potential -

Changing the World - One Twitter at a Time

What I Don't Know / What I Do Know

Before I run back into my studio and work on my art (in between laundry and getting the kids productively occupied) I thought I'd record a list that keeps running around in my mind - I think it came to me for the sole purpose of continuing clarity -

What I don't Know:

I don't know what a trillion is - I took a lot of math but it was mostly concerned with greek letters meant to try and understand on a conscious level what my mind does on an unconscious level - my best approximation is it is a number followed by many zeros.

I don't know what a fraction of a trillion is -
I don't know what a collateralized swap option is - I don't know who invented them or why - I don't even know who agreed they were a good idea.
I don't know Paulson, I don't know Bernake, I don't know Volker, I don't know who they work for or who works for them, I don't know who came before them or who will come after them. I don't know what a billion is (except that it has a lot of zeros) so I certainly don't know what 700 billion is - I don't know what giving something I don't know to someone I don't know is.
I don't know the stock market, I don't know if studying the stock market or finance for my entire life would have prevented a 'crisis' of losing several trillion dollars (which I don't know what is) causing a bunch of people I don't know to vote to give a person I don't know many billions of dollars (which I don't know what is) to someone I don't know - to further compound the problem I don't know if that will 'work' or 'not work' - but I don't know what 'working' is because I don't really know finance.
What a pickle (I know what a pickle is luckily).

What I Do Know

Today is today, now is now.
When I woke up, the sun was shining - I had more 'friends' on Facebook and more 'followers' on Twitter.
I know I found great value in the smile on my children's faces.
I know I found great value in the cup of coffee I had.
I know I had some fascinating dreams which would make interestng works of art.
I know people 'trapped' in 'free' environments and people 'free' in oppressive environments.
I know people wealthy with nothing in the bank and people poor with a lot in the bank.
I know if it is possible to 'lose' 1 trillion in a week, it should be possible to 'find' 1 trillion in a week.
I know either scenario would not make my daughters smile any sweeter.
I know I can't chose what happens in the world but I can chose what happens in my heart and mind.
I know that freedom, prosperity, happiness is an 'inside/out' process.

OK - I've got to get back to the studio - I like my second list better.

50 Coat

I made the rather pleasant discovery today that 50 coat can be cut and carved - hmmm, much more versatile than I first imagined.

Playing

There is an interesting concept that Guy Finley spoke about in one of his lectures - 'playing to learn.' He contrasts this with the idea of 'learning to play.' Thinking back on my childhood, and watching my children grow - there is that precious skill of playing that we tend to lose as we get older. Modifying an age old law of physics - a child at play tends to stay at play until an outside force acts upon it. As we get older, what I think happens is we tend to become more and more conscious of that 'outside force.' But it really doesn't have to be that way. I began to write - most - but then I reflected and had to change this next sentence to ALL outside forces are outside of our control - all. Think about that - doesn't that make you wonder? Think deeper - how much of our day is spent dwelling on an outside force and what to do about it? Of course we can influence some things - and we can make our opinion known, lend a hand, work hard to contribute to society - but at the end of the day it is influence only. Things happen, markets change, what we once thought was secure is all of sudden in flux. And yet, I guarantee in any city anywhere in the world in any park anywhere, you will find a child at play. Is that simplistic and unrealistic to ponder? I think it holds a secret to true happiness. If we can remember to play. These are some of the thoughts I have when working on some of my art - and I think about the economy, war, politics, health - Napoleon Hill pointed out that God gave us power over but one thing in the world and that is our mental attitude. Do you have a dream, a passion - something incredible you want to achieve? Think of this time as an invitation to find that child again, an invitation to greatness - play to learn, play to dream, play.

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Second Guessing

I have to confess that often I struggle with doubt and second guessing. Positive thinking is definitely a full time job. Sometimes an idea will come to me and then I think, no – I shouldn’t do that for this reason or that reason. Regarding making art in particular – the idea visits me that making visual images is not particularly important in the grand scheme of things. There is something beyond positive thinking; however, and that is more accurately described as ‘right’ thinking. It’s funny, the mind is like a chatterbox – it just keeps thinking. Most of the thoughts are not really worth much – particularly the ones that involve limit or inaction. I think about all of the steps that take me places – each one of them ‘scary’ at times, some much more than others. Just the other day I finished a taping called ‘Peace’. I put it up on Imagekind and then I thought, let me send this to a person I know who might appreciate it. Now, it is important to understand, each one of these steps involve doubt and second guessing – should I make the work, investing all that time into it – why am I making it? Does it ‘fit in’ with my other artwork? What is my artwork in general? Would this person want to see it? Why is it even important? These are all just random thoughts associated with ‘the process.’ I did finish it though, and sent the link – ‘right thinking’ is acting in spite of a negative or fear thought. It ‘feels’ different from ‘positive’ thinking in that it isn’t imagining a fantasy world of what would be fun and fantastic – it is a process of looking at negative thoughts as immaterial and unimportant. Within minutes of sending the link, the person called me up – she began crying over the phone and told me how she loves her grandchildren and this reminded her so much of when she would tell them she loves them to the stars and back. It made me realize images are important, that acting on positive thoughts is important – the conversation brought me more ideas to make more images and I realized again how important it is to not second guess.

Your work is to discover your work – and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
- Buddha

Prints

I got some feedback regarding one of my prints on Imagekind - Dream Structure I: Version 2 - she writes:

"Dear Rob, I got my print of 'Dream Structure' from Imagekind. It's more beautiful than I could have imagined! Thank you. xoxoxoxo" - Nancy, Long Island, NY

Thank you for the feedback Nancy - I'm really happy you are enjoying it so much. - Rob

Suiting Up

You have to be careful when working with a lot of art materials. Many of them have vapors which aren't so good for the body. Using the resin that I do is no exception - and actually one of the more noxious odors - smells a lot like straight ammonia while I'm working with it until it cures. I just mixed up a batch of that to coat a new taping I just finished, and to begin the bottom portion of Ogallala with. I usually put on goggles, wear gloves and a charcoal filtered mask with two straps - not just the flimsy little paper masks that are really just for nuisance dust. Whenever I 'suit up' like that - I am reminded of a time when I worked at this pharmaceutical company years ago. My buddy and I had to make a batch of some really nasty stuff - what made it so dangerous was we were working with a deadly chemical. Basically one fingernail of the stuff could kill - and we were making a 150 Kg batch about 30 to 40 Kg's being this dangerous chemical. We shut the entire building down and just he and I were 'suited up' with scott air packs and one piece over-all suits. It was kind of like '2001 A Space Odyssey' - and trust me, I had a lot of fun with that - walking around the building like an astronaut saying 'Hal, open the pod bay door - Hal' - or I would announce - 'Everyone stay calm, there is nothing to fear'.

[The person] who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.

— Sir John Templeton, Laws of Life.

What Attracts

I'm kind of curious what attracts people to art - I know that sounds kind of like a silly question but I really mean, specifically. Do people turn to art for entertainment - as a form of distraction, or is it a form of focus? Some of the work I'm very drawn to is for example Ellsworth Kelly, one piece in particular captivates me - it is 'Electric Blue' - I have a hard time explaining why. It is simply a large blue square, hung so that it hangs like a diamond. Is it the exact proportion? It doesn't translate on a computer screen so don't bother trying to get a sense of it there. I do believe that it is no exaggeration to say I could look at that piece longer than the Mona Lisa - is that strange? I'm also a big fan of Jonathan Borofsky - I really like in particular how he would dream, or write down some silly little part of his dream and then make that into an art piece. Who else? Malevich - he was a Russian artist who created these things he called Suprematist compositions - and my favorite among them was 'White on White' - Malevich believed that 'the object in itself was meaningless ... the ideas of the conscious mind are worthless' - on a conscious level, I disagree with what he is saying - although I could probably ramble on and parse that sentence for several paragraphs as to why what he is saying falls apart - but still, the work itself I find hypnotic and magnetic - there is something so still in that and the Kelly piece - it does remind me so much of a line by Vernon Howard 'Man fears nothing more than his own silent mind'. Me, I kind of like it - I've always loved nothing more than working in my studio making a piece that takes on a life essence in a way. It is like a thought crystal that finds its way into the physical realm - the work takes on an emotive energy when it begins to push back. Often times I'm not even sure if I 'like' a piece that I've made but often I can't stop looking at it for quite a while and wondering where it came from. I'd love to hear what draws people to art.

Gesso Panel

Starting 'Corralled' - I am beginning with a sheet of plywood finished grade. It is actually smooth on both sides - birch I believe. To prepare the gesso ground I'm using Gamblin traditional gesso. This is one of the materials that can be used to create the white surface. Another alternative is the acrylic polymer emulsion but that has a less absorbent surface. Real gesso is a combination of rabbit skin glue, gypsum, calcium carbonate and titanium dioxide. Many years ago, I would stretch unprimed linen and then size it with rabbit skin glue, which I cooked - and man does that stuff wreak :) - This Gamblin gesso is much nicer in that everything is all in there - plus, you couldn't use this on a stretched canvas as it is too brittle. I had to put the mixture into distilled water yesterday and let it sit for about 24 hours. Once it was done soaking - I then used a double boiler to heat water underneath the pot of soaking gesso. It is very delicate and shouldn't be heated directly. You can see the little crystals of rabbit skin glue in the mixture and once those are dissolved - it is ready to go. I usually do stuff like this right in the kitchen - so, if you can imagine it - a sheet of plywood leaned up against the cabinets and gesso on the stove - yummy :) - When I work on sculpture, sometimes I put the clay in the oven to soften it a bit - mmm, yummy. Once the gesso is dry, I'll probably sand it with a 220 grit sand paper and then mix up another batch to give it a beautiful surface. I really love a pristine gessoed surface and really kind of wish I could have a show of just gessoed panels - they really are beautiful. There is nothing like a beautifully Lambertian surface.

Water Within

The meaning, for me, regarding 'Ogallala' - as I touched on a little earlier - was the irony that many, many people in the midwest suffered years and years of a terrible drought while a huge quantity of water lay below their feet. Friends who know me know that I talk a lot about 'positive visualization' - which is probably the greatest 'tool' we can discover and use. Positive visualization can help you to bring things into your life - but I also learned something even more just this last week. I finished reading a book by Vernon Howard 'Pathway to a Perfect Life' - and he really helped to drive home an even deeper point. There is nothing in this world exterior to yourself that can bring true happiness or joy. Things in our exterior world are not the 'source' of true, deep happiness. Reading that book I realized a deeper significance with 'Ogallala' - and possibly the under-painting of a person in a reflective state - while we are working through this economic down turn - it is what we have stored inside ourselves - where the true source of abundant joy and peace reside - if at the 'being' level we do our most work then we can achieve the most. I like watching movies on 'the secret' - but what I try to remember is, while the focus on many of those movies is bringing more 'stuff' into your world - how many people do we know who have 'stuff' flying in but are absolutely miserable, and the opposite, know people who are seemingly without much but have a deep and beautiful sense of themselves and life around them. This time, too, shall pass - how will this next moment be spent? In anxious worry about what will come into or go out of our life - or in silent gratitude of the incredible abundance each moment brings?

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Water

So I began working on the water in Ogallala - but I decided to use a happier medium (a little artist joke). I went with Golden's Acrylic polymer heavy gel medium and the Golden's pthalo blue. I will most likely use this in layers and layers. I was going to use the amber varnish that I mentioned earlier - that is an oil based pigment - but I didn't for a few reasons - one is, the acrylic is water based and, in fact this is a depiction of water - seems to make sense to me :) - also, it is much more convenient. I keep forgetting that the acrylic paints offer so much more these days. Back when I was painting in acrylic in the late 80's early 90's all I was aware of was very simple mediums that to my recollection didn't allow for the transparent layering that can be achieved with oil. It is an interesting side note that most color today, and most of the images we are looking at, are created with a dot matrix of laying primary colors side by side - like the artist Seurat. Paintings and even old photographic images, were created by laying primaries one over the other in transparent layers - this accomplishes a level complexity that I tend to enjoy visually. Some of my next steps are to take pete moss and I am going to make a batch of resin and suspend the pete moss in the resin for the portion underneath. Above, I am also going to use resin right over the concrete but while it is curing, I am going to try and suspend sand right into the resin. Working like this is very satisfying because it reminds me of the three dimensional nature of painting - even a Vermeer was concerned not just with composition and color, but the physical characteristics of each layer of paint.

Inspiritus

Silent Mind

I remember when I was up at grad school, being in my studio on 125th street in Harlem. It was a second floor with about four or five very large windows. Each window had a huge arc to them, very rounded. I could open them up and hear all the hustle and bustle of NYC, cars, sirens, whistles, the elevated portion of the 1/9 ran right by. One most magical evening, snow came and it fell gently. Snow has the most amazing ability to quiet everything and in a moment like that, I felt most alive.

Painting With Concrete

A lot of people have asked me about painting with concrete - also, don't forget, this will include pete moss as well.  This is the next step on Ogallala.  That's a little bit of my studio in the back with a 'binary' painting I'm making out of 1's and 0's 


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The Rail

Have you ever gone to an amusement park where the rides were straight and flat?  Or even at a constant angle slightly up?  Where turns were gently pitched and announced well in advance?  If you ever have, I’m sure you don’t remember it except to say to yourself not to go back.  But what is the real ‘joy’ of a ‘death defying’ ride like El Toro or Rolling Thunder?  I’ll tell you what I think it is – it’s not in the car design, or the steep, heart pounding climbs, or even the rushing, precipitous drop that leaves half of your stomach at the top of the hill.  I think the joy is in the rail – throughout the whole ride you somehow always know that the rail is there.  Faith is in the rail.  God is in the rail.  There are moments in your life when you are on top of the world, when you and others like you participate in being the rail.  There are moments when you are experiencing that precipitous drop, and it’s harder to see in ‘real’ life but the rail is there.  What would this life be like if it were nothing but the slow ‘tick’, ‘tick’, ‘tick’ to the top of a never-ending hill?  When life seems hardest, and the ride too fast, think of that visual picture – know, the way you know on one of your favorite rides, God is in the rail. 

Dust Bowl and Water

The piece 'Ogallala' started out very strange indeed.  I am working on a plywood panel and had fully intended to use concrete.  I began priming the panel with a regular gesso panel and then started using charcoal (one of my favorite mediums of all time) to sketch out the composition - which basically is a horizon line, dust above, water below - but it 'morphed' into this strange figurative piece which reminded me much like a Modigiliani - but not so elegant :) - It was a male figure, very elongated and the head was a bit larger than it should be.  It was expressive in a way, but I don't know if that was in a creepy way :).  I had no idea where this piece was going.  Anyway, I later, made up some concrete and started painting with the concrete and so the under-image will be totally obliterated in the final piece - I don't know if it will influence the final 'feel' of the piece - that remains to be seen.  I've got to finish painting the water underneath, which will be done with a blue pigment suspended in Amber Varnish - the purpose of that being to create a real feel of water.  And surrounding that, I've got some mulch from Home Depot which I am going to suspend in fifty coat.  If it comes out like it is in my mind, I'm very excited to see it finished.

New Start

So, I'm starting a new painting today - 'Corralled' - if you read an earlier blog, this is inspired by the Richard Dryfus interview - and typically, that is how images come to me, one word or thought might trigger it.  The way I'm going to start it is to run down to one of my favorite art supply stores 'Home Depot' and grab a nice sheet of plywood.  I'll then fasten a backing to it to keep it from warping and I'm going to mix a real gesso from powder.  I like doing that, as opposed to acrylic gesso, when I am doing oil paintings because of the way it absorbs the oil paint.  This painting is going to be either 4' x 8' or 4' x 6' - I have to decide once I see it in front of me and I feel how the composition will work depending on those two shapes.  One of the things I love about working on panels as opposed to canvas is I can make those kind of 'on the fly' decisions without having to remove canvas from a stretcher, rebuild new stretcher bars and then re-stretch canvas.  I think this painting will be very interesting and go well with 'Slaughter Run' and 'Never Enough'  - Check my painting portfolio for those, I think I may have blogged about them as well but I don't remember.  The interesting thing that is evolving for me is, I grew up on a farm, and I find it really strange how all of these farm images are linking up in my mind with global political events - even the work I am finishing - Ogallala - has its roots in a 'farm image' in that it is from the dust bowl (see Ogallala).  I am going to try and get further on that today - I'll describe what needs to be done with that on another post.

'Make circumstance - all circumstance - conform to the law of your mind.  Be always a king, and not they, and nothing shall hurt you.'

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you're not."

Denis Waitley

Okay

Okay - I try not to do this, but - I can't help it - thoughts rush in and at 11:17 at night I've got another 'post' -

Watching election coverage - who can't help but do that, whatever - just watched Huckabee interview Richard Dryfuss - really a great 'interview' - I put interview in quotes because Huckabee actually let the guy speak - anyway, Dryfuss was really riveting - riveting in the sense that he brought up the precious nature of what we've got - AMERICA - what an incredible gift!! To speak, to listen, to create - and he touched on a very poignant thought - the speed of information and how it affects our thought process. Check out 'Family Unit circa 1970' - it is my generations icon. And what I think is interesting about that image - the digitization of it - The Brady Bunch was delivered in analog, we thought of it as an 'innocent' time, even though things were bubbling. Now, information is packaged, distributed - it bursts onto the scene. Richard Dryfuss mentioned this idea 'Corralled' - and that is definitely going to be a painting of mine.

One other that came to mind - Red State / Blue State - I don't think it will be in encaustic because red and blue don't translate as well in wax as they would in oil, but I digress - but I see it as a Mark Rothko - people immersed in the beautiful experiment known as 'freedom' pressing on each other, pushing it away -

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Continuing On

This piece is a continuation of the bas relief I am working on - which I discussed in 'How I Start'. At this point, the layout and portrait details are pretty complete. You can see a little of the photo I am working from off to the right. The sculpture is currently in plastilina clay, which is oil based. In this form, the clay is still pliable - actually it never dries. I am working on a piece of plywood panel - which I borrowed from another piece (which I started talking about back in the July postings - 'One Shouldn't Sketch & Drive'). After the client reviews this and 'proofs' it - I will have to then make a mold. In order to do that, I would build sides around the sculpture - and then mix a mold resin and pour it directly over the clay. When that dries, I peal it off, clean out the clay and have a 'negative' mold. Into that, I'll be pouring a compound that will harden and the final piece will look like a white marble or stone. I then take all the clay off the board and save it for the next sculpture. I will clean up the board underneath and get it back into shape for use on the other taping. It is kind of funny - I got three plywood panels for the other taping I am working on but they end up getting used for other 'stream of conscious' pieces - one being Ogallala which is in process, and that is a funny story all it's own.

Hey - I Didn't Do It

My site changed its look but I didn't do that -

I will be updating the look :)

Rob

The Poll

This is the poll I haven't ever seen taken:

Do you love your children and/or your friends children? Yes/No
Would you love to see them have a beautiful, prosperous future? Yes/No
Do you care about the health of your family? Yes/No
Would you like to see everyone have some level of quality health care? Yes/No
Would you feel good about the idea that everyone, regardless of their race or creed, prosper? Yes/No
Do you hope tomorrow brings more than today and that your dreams come true? Yes/No
If you had the power, would you create a world where people lived together in a free and open society? Yes/No

I mentioned earlier in my post 'Political Party' that most people share the same values - and this is what I mean by that. The next time you find yourself arguing politics with a neighbor - just remember, you most likely share the same values - you just both passionately believe your 'party' has the best way of achieving those values. To me, this is the only thing that explains two neighbors with two different signs on their lawn - whose children play together. We believe in more core things than we differ.

Ogallala

The last great depression was a terrible time for all involved.  What made it even worse, and practically unbearable was the onslaught of drought - at the worst possible moment, water stopped falling from the sky.  Farming practices loosened the soil and as the wind kicked up - at the height of it - some 100 million acres were nothing but dust.  Many fled, a few stayed and faced their fear.  What did they discover?  The Ogallala Aquafer - a huge reservoir of water just below their feet.  This story reminds me so much of Napoleon Hill who says it is a 'law' of nature that 'Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit" - There is that all too familiar Santayana quote - 'Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it' - and while this is true, it is equally true that there is always a way for those who search for it!



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Further Proof

Thoughts are things.  A thought is energy - that exists in different forms at different moments in time.  Further proof to this is 'Today's Quote' by Warren Hilton       Down deep in the inmost chambers of your soul are untouched stores of energy that properly applied will exalt your personality and illumine your career.  But to find and claim these hidden riches you must persevere.  You must endure.'

     - circa 1912 - A thought that can still move through space and time.

How I Start

This is a continuation of the bas relief project I am working on. A bas relief is basically the combination between a two dimensional drawing and a three dimensional sculpture. This combination is what I think provides the most challenging thing about a bas relief. In a drawing, there is a 'fixed' point of view - all perspective, scale and sense of form can be driven off that point. A full blown sculpture, that is three dimensional, takes on the natural sense of perspective as all other objects in the world - but a relief, at one moment and in passages of the piece, is flat and drawn - and, especially when a relief goes into 3/4 or 'full' relief - this part has to emerge into the three dimensional world but transition back into two dimensions in a way that makes visual sense. In the image here, I show the foundation of how I started with this project. I first take many images and combine them to create the final image. I then start with an under-drawing and begin to build the clay up in a very rough manner.

Spiritual Soccer

One of the things I love most is watching my son at soccer practice. I can't think of too many ways I love to end a day than going out to the field and watching him and his teammates putting their heart and soul into what they do. I think of it almost like a meditation exercise - especially on a fall day when the air is cool and the sun is just right. When they get into a passing drill, the rolling of the ball, the quick precision and then the big shot on goal! I know my son is imagining 'SCORE'! All seems right in the world at that moment.

Mind Trip

The mind is very good at taking 'trips'. Especially when things can seem bleak. Isn't it funny that the mind often doesn't take good 'trips' when the news seems difficult. I wrestle with this - stopping myself from creating and living with scenarios that haven't yet happened. Similar in idea to the 'power of now.' Often times - if I find my mind wondering and inventing I try and catch it - and practice imagining future scenarios filled with wonder.

What's The Point?

What's the point of my blog? For some time now I have become more and more aware of the onslaught of negative images coming at us from all directions. Ever notice when the price of oil goes down it 'plunges' and when the price of oil goes up it 'surges'? When the dollar goes down it 'sinks' but if it happens to strengthen the news talks about another currency 'weakening' against the dollar. Almost 90% of all stories in the media (this is based on my scientifically accurate ability to guestimate) are designed (whether intentional or not) to speak about a story from the negative end. Here is an interesting point - if you buy into the idea that 'thoughts' are 'things' - that a thought is an energy impulse that has real characteristics, you can begin to discover another fascinating characteristic of these thought 'impulses'. In this instance, like energy attracts like energy. Hearing a story about something 'plunging' has an incredible psychophysical effect on your mind and body. I say psychophysical as short hand for both psychological and physical - I see these as intricately connected. See, it doesn't matter what is 'plunging' - what matters is that the subconscious mind picks up this imagery and is drawn down by it. 'Surging' also, inspires fear, especially when tied to something that directly affects how much money we have to spend at the end of the day. I won't even begin to get involved in all the other horrific stories that dominate the news and media. So, it's taken me a while to get my act together but I tried to imagine a blog that was dedicated to pointing out how I and all of us are affected, not by events, but how we feel about them - how these events are framed for our digestion. If you end the day being bombarded by negative thought impulses, they linger with you through the evening - and especially if you raise in the morning and are greeted by negative thought impulses it perpetuates the 'gathering storm.' Even more ironic is that (guestimating again) I would suggest that 95 to 98 percent of all stories we are exposed to have little to no bearing on our daily lives - except that they inspire negative energy.  I hope as people are 'attracted' to my blog they will begin to see the connection to all of my postings and my work and that it serves as a springboard to begin examining, and then hopefully eliminating, all of the negative thinking that creates barriers, affects health, and limits joy in life. If you come across an article, thought or idea that helps me in this mission - please share it with me. I love to post links to artists, thinkers, writers, stories that enlighten and inspire.

Dad

I spent the evening with my dad tonight. We celebrated his 82nd birthday. I can't believe I drew this picture some 20 years ago - but truthfully, he hasn't changed all that much. Maybe just a little grayer. My dad was a first generation American whose parents came over with next to nothing. One of our most favorite thing, as one of six children, was for all of us to climb into my mom and his bed on a Saturday morning and listen to his stories of him and his big brother collecting scraps of wood from back allies to burn back at their home and stay warm. He would tell us with quite a belly laugh about how they would walk into movie theaters backwards, while the crowd was coming out so they could see a movie. 1926 - boom and bust and war, and peace and war and boom and bust and boom, boom, boom, bust - funny, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I remember in high school, or even earlier, he taught me how to change the spark plugs in a car - he drew out the engine for me in the sand, along with the cylinders and explained how his first model A was made - he now has more sophisticated parts in his hip. Talking with him tonight about the market, I marveled at how he just looked at the television and smiled - today, on his birthday - the market fell an historical amount, I think 1.3 trillion. He smiled. Not mockingly or with malice, just a calm confidence that he's had it all and had nothing and wasn't too sure when was most fun. When we were little, all six of us, and he made fifty dollars a week - he'd have to decide to feed us, or heat the house - we had blankets, so he'd make his homemade pancakes (from scratch), the ones I make my kids now - and we'd watch our breath while we ate, but still, we ate. Dad grew up with very little, and gave all six of us everything. He got all of us who wanted, through college somehow. But I think, more importantly, taught me that there is always a way. Tonight it was rather beautiful to see my little six year old Meg laugh and smile with him when they blew out his candles together. Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.



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Political Party

Anyone who knows me well, knows I LOVE politics.  I was thinking last night I'd like to have a political party.  You know, a party where you're expected to talk politics - but everyone is encouraged to have fun with the other persons opinion.  Even try it on for size in a playful, party like way.  Tim Russert predicted that this election would actually end in an electoral tie. Whether it does or not, I have a theory about the country being 'deeply divided.'  I think most people in this country think very similarly, from a basic value point of view - but have varying views of how to get where we want to go.  Sort of like a map - everyone agrees they want to get to a beautiful destination but some want to take the scenic route, some the direct, no-nonsense way.   I do think one of the most distracting things about politics is that people can get too invested in the idea that their own particular success at achieving dreams and goals is based on whoever wins an election or whether a bank fails or not.  Part of my 'mission' of this blog - and my art - is to try and create a visual and written body of work focused on the idea that most all barriers are more a product of how we think about the things happening around us - rather than the actual things happening around us.  Some of the greatest 'obstacles' are really opportunities to grow in many ways.  In the next several days and months - it will be more important than ever, to try and remember that.  

My Voice, Your Voice

I think often, in the bustle of life - we can feel engulfed in things - events, deadlines, desires, dreams - and maybe feel invisible to the world racing around.  There is another reality that you can make yourself immediately aware of.  You are uniquely you.  This sounds very simple - but the precious point of it is that no one says what you say, the way you say it.  No one does, what you do, the way you do it.  Your voice is unique, and people are watching - each of us impacts the other in a unique and special way - like a snowflake, leaving a gossamer trace upon the world.  

Fear is the Mind Killer

For those of you who like to read science fiction - the title of this post is from Frank Herbert's Dune. I was just thinking this morning about FDR's 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' What does that mean, really? For me it means, when you have one or more options to a future state - the emotion of fear is usually trying to keep you from your true power. If you have a vision of something you would like to achieve, and the courage to act towards that goal - you can and will succeed, provided you don't let fear drive.

Sculpture for a New Dad

One of the things I LOVE about being an artist is that people allow me to come into their lives and 'speak' for them in a way.  I experienced this, again,  recently when a friend of mine commissioned me to make a sculpture of her and her new father.  I really never imagined that I would be a sculptor - except for the strange reality that I grew up with a mentor who was primarily a sculptor - while I painted.  Now, I use the same clay he used, the clay he gave me, and it has been 'magic' in the way it continues to touch the lives of those around me.  Recently a friend of mine learned that her mom's husband wanted to adopt her.  She and I have sons, both 10.  I mention this to paint the picture that she is not a little girl but a grown woman.  There is a special love that I can't explain in words - I had to 'feel' it when I made the sculpture for the firefighters - or for the fiance who wanted a sculpture of her weightlifter husband - and now the sculpture of a young woman and her new dad.  When I think of it, I think of how each moment is new and renewing and it is never too late to reach out to someone and express your love.  

Never Forget

One of the things 'Never Forget' means to me:

There are far more people in the world willing to save, than there are willing to destroy.

Share what you think 'Never Forget' means ---

We Draw Strength From Each Other

Engine 6 Memorial

September 11, 2001

We Draw Strength From Each Other

I gave this speech on October 15, 2006 at a dedication ceremony in NYC - honoring four firefighters from Engine 6 who died in the North Tower on 9/11.

A person is what they do, no more and no less

A person can become what they admire.

I was at work on that day, I heard the towers had collapsed

and I ran home.

I was eighty miles away from the danger, and I ran home.

I put on the television. I watched as my head swam.

Fear, confusion, anger, frustration and sadness.

I waited impatiently for my family to come home.

And when they did, we hugged, cried.

And we watched the television to see if other, braver men and women would make things right in the world again.

We're here to honor four such men.

Lt. Thomas O'Hagan

FF William Johnston

FF Thomas Holohan

FF Paul Beyer

All of the 343 active duty firefighters who lost their lives that day. And all of the men and women who chose to put fear aside and CHOSE to make things right again. I deeply admire you.

In order to create this piece, I listened to the stories of the men of Engine 6. I read the letters their loved ones wrote. I watched that day unfold again, and again.

Amidst the cloud of pulverized concrete and glass, an image emerged.

I saw fallen heroes and the walking wounded.

I saw men and women who spent their days hoping and praying, digging, searching, thinking, tearing, praying and more hoping, praying.

I saw lives ruined and families rocked and whole communities wracked with sorrow.

And I saw men and women who CHOSE to do something about it.

I asked Billy Green, the only man from Engine 6 to have made it out of the the North Tower, "What were you most proud of that day?" and he said -

"We stood fast."

In the face of overwhelming destruction

when a nation sat in dumbstruck fear,

these men stood fast, and then,

proceeded up those stairs,

to put out "that fire."

Over thirty flights of stairs,

Turnout coats,

Soaring temperatures,

Tools

Roll-ups

I asked Billy, "How did you guys go on?" and he said,

"Well, we kind of drew strength from each other."

These men may not have been perfect, but they became perfect at that moment and in that hour. And it was this strength that transcended the darkness and the evil that was transpiring above them. I have read of firefighters despairing that they themselves did not save enough, or very little. To you, my brothers, I must say, your mere presence brought comfort to those in the final moments of their lives. You inspire in the minds and hearts in those around you an idea. The idea that you might not be perfect, but you will try to be. That you may not be able to save, but you will try to save. For in the end, all of the men and women who CHOSE to save.

And these four men.

Lt. Tom O'Hagan

FF Billy Johnston

FF Tommy Holohan

FF Paulie Beyer

You bring the promise of hope.

You draw strength from each other.

May we draw on that strength,

so that we might have the courage to do

what we should do

in the hour

of our calling.

Crow's Epistemology

There was an experiment done on crows.  This is a true statement.  Someone somewhere wanted to know how much a crow could count up to.  This all might seem very silly - but, as the experiment went - there were a lot of crows in a field, and the experimenters sent one person in, the crows scattered and flew to the trees, hid there and watched until that person left.  When one person left, the crows returned.  Then the experimenters sent in two people - again the crows scattered.  When two people left, the crows returned.   Three went in, crows scattered, returned when three left.  Four went in - same thing, when four left, the crows returned.  Then an interesting thing happened - five went in, and then left - the crows never returned.  Why?  The crows couldn't conceive beyond five.  To them, it was one, two, three, four, many.  This, to me, is the hardest thing to realize about 'abundance' - we become so used to having so much that we mentally lose track of how much we have.  So much is pouring in at this very second that we are much like the crow - we've lost count - we don't know.  

Kenneled

I love my dog.   His name is Marshal.  Actually, my wife picked him out from a rescue shelter - and he is sweet and kind and a teacher in his own way.  In the abundance of life, if you are looking, watching, caring - life's lessons are everywhere.  My sweet dog has learned to love his kennel.  He sleeps there all night and in the morning when we let him out, he takes care of business, maybe runs a bit - sometimes he chases a ball and is excited by the beauty around him - but often times he looks longingly at his kennel and then walks slowly towards it without any prompting - and then looks back as if to ask, please, open the door so I may 'kennel up.'  I watched this the other morning and wondered how many times does it cross my mind to 'kennel up' - to not take that chance to reach for the things that matter most, to take a moment to tell someone they are amazing, or draw a picture of my child, or tell someone close to me I love them.  To engage in the whole of life while I have the chance instead of 'kenneling up' - that is the lesson I learned from my sweet Marshal just the other morning.

The Power of the Human Mind

Much of my art these last few years has been about a personal discovery of sorts - and that is regarding the power of the human mind.  Of course we've always known there are many people out there with great minds doing incredible things.  And, if you're like me, you may wonder how do some people do so many amazing things - and why does it seem so easy for some and so difficult for others.  My personal experience had been wondering why it's been so difficult to reach my childhood dream of being a full time artist.  It's funny seeing my son collect baseball cards or follow the careers of soccer players and I realize when I was his age I would idolize Van Gogh, think about why Picasso painted the way he did - when I was at museums all I wanted to do was get as close as I could to a painting to see how it was made and would imagine myself doing the brush strokes.  I mean, of course like my son, I would do the old 'here I am, at the plate, two on, two outs, bottom of the ninth, count is full - oh my, there it is - a three run homer!'  But I realize also how I would imagine making paintings just as vividly.  Yet many years had gone by and still even though I had worked very hard I was not at my dream.  At the nadir of my frustration I had stumbled upon the work of Napoleon Hill offered by Nightingale-Conant and I started to realize that any 'perceived' limits were largely some function of how I 'thought' about those limits.  If you are an artist you might relate to the these thoughts 'They only take young artists for their shows,' 'They only take artists with degrees from Yale,' 'Only artists who sacrifice everything make it anywhere,' 'An artist's life is a one of suffering,' 'You can't raise a family and be an artist' - or fill in the blanks - and I realized also how many times the word 'they' would come up in my thoughts - and, if you're like me, you realize you don't really know who 'they' are but isn't it funny how much we know about how 'they' think?  This personal discovery was really a turning point for me and that was about two years ago -  and each day I continue to use the things I learned from the material on actually 'using' my mind in a proactive, positively visualizing way.  I am very excited to put two of the cd's (of the many I have listened to over the last two years) - The Science of Personal Achievement and The Einstein Factor - as links on my website (check to the right and scroll down).  If you've ever felt frustration or that life could and should be more - check this out.   

Desert Bloom

I have seen footage of desert flowers blooming quickly after a brief and rare rain - and I got to experience such a feeling just yesterday.  We had a 'gallery walk' at Artworks in Trenton for the Trenton Artists' Workshop Association presentation of 'past, present, Forward.'   We were very fortunate to have Mel Leipzig attend and we walked around and discussed many of his students' work as well as others.  I have known Mel for many years now and the one thing that always impresses me about him is his genuine, child like, expressions of joy at the world around him.  I think that is one quality I really admire in people is when they can 'experience' the world in a new way each and every day.  After the show, my wife, sister and friend and all of our children ran over to check out the TAWA show that is currently running at the Trenton City Museum - Ellarslie - called 'Inside / Out' and as I was walking out of the museum, again I see Mel coming up the walkway - he was on his way to check out his students in that show as well - he's touched many lives through his teaching and his art - that's another trait in people I admire, they are constantly trying to share as much as they can.  So, continuing the story - I was by myself and he said 'Oh, Rob', as only Mel can do - for anyone who has ever met him, he brings his hand to his forehead like he is thinking both of saying hello and trying to remember something incredibly important - 'Oh, Rob, I'm glad I saw you - I forgot to ask you if you had brought the article about the last show at Ellarslie - you know, the one that mentions my wife.' (TAWA had dedicated the show to her memory)  I told him I had and to follow me.  We went to the car and I pulled out the article, handing it to him - he quickly scanned it to find comfort in those two small words - Mary Jo - and for a brief moment had a sad and loving smile.  We made our way back to the museum and he was lost in thought when all of a sudden all of the children I had mentioned earlier swept into view.  The path at Ellarslie is made of the small stone shale - dusty and dry and nothing much can grow in it - but all of a sudden, there was Meg and Harry and Emma, Fabiola, Francesca and Michael and Kim and my sister and wife and all of their faces where beaming with smiles and Mel woke from his reverie.  'Oh my,' he said, 'Who are all these children?' as a huge smile moved across his face and his eyes lit up at the sight of this desert bloom - I introduced them all and with an artists eye he scanned each of their faces and took in the joy of the moment.  As we left, he took a moment to mention to my nephew that his girlfriend Kim was 'quite pretty' - and everyone smiled at that and then we made our way to our cars and drove off. Magical things happen at museums. I hope you have a moment to find joy and beauty and abundance today.

Eclectic and Loving It!

If you've been following my blog so far - you may notice I have a small problem - I'm very eclectic :) - But, I've learned to embrace it.  It fits well with my 'dream' theme in a way - you know, you can't really plan your dreams to any great extent.  Actually, if you practice, and just before you go to sleep, state with intention what you plan on dreaming about - you can have some influence.  But the exact details, and where your dreams go - well, that is just a ride :)  This is a bust portrait of my son Harry.  It is still in clay - called plastilina - which is an oil based clay and, in this form, it will never dry.  The next step is to cast it by creating a mold around it, pealing the mold off and then pouring whatever material I would like to have the final piece cast as.  I would then mount it on a nice piece of marble to set it off.  My children like to pose for me sometimes, but not for very long and so I must work quickly :)

See The Children Run

Another piece I am currently working on is 'See The Children Run' - this is from one of my favorite songs - 'Fields of Gold' by Sting, and there is also a beautiful version by Eva Cassidy.  Anyway, like many of my other pieces - I spend a lot of time 'working' on pieces in my mind, and this one is no different.  I find this song evokes many beautiful images and one of the ones I saw - from this particular line:

Many years have passed since those summer days,
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
As you lie in fields of gold

Is represented in this digital sketch - which I took yesterday out in the sod field on the farm where I grew up.  The setting sun, the deep green grass, the children (my nephew and my three children) running, playing - each character in a dream is a different part of you, and in a painting - which for me is 'dreaming' on canvas - each character 'plays' to create the whole of life - my nephew, passing into manhood - my daughter racing to 'catch up' - leaving behind their young brother and sister.  When I 'dream' and work on these pieces I also think a lot about the material I will use and for this piece, I think I will use a wood panel but I am considering combining acrylic, tape and fifty coat altogether - When it is finished, I hope to capture the deep, deep green and the figures in shadow - 

Who

Who you are, and what you will be - exists right now -

I Wish I Was A Sci-Fi Writer

I put links off to the right of what I think are interesting articles on art and science. The 'invisibility' articles I find fascinating because it ties into thoughts about being energy - which I refer to in my 'Curious Color' e-book. This latest link on 'invisibility' really intrigues me - as it gives some insight into the nature of fear: --- if the thing you fear most, can't see you, will you still be afraid? If all fear, and all conflict, is ultimately internal - will cloaking yourself work? But here's the sci-fi story I'd love to write - Scientists finally perfect the cloaking tool and the military takes this technology and applies it - contractors sell it to all the conflicting contries to perpetuate war - all of these countries happily apply their new technology thinking it will give them another leg up in the cycle of endless conflict - but what we don't realize is the cloaking tool only works in the visible spectrum - 400 to 700nm - but instantly makes us a beacon to a much more aggressive alien race - over the millenium, we have adapted to seeing and being seen in the 400 to 700 nm spectrum because it protects us from this - 'other' race. As soon as we employ the cloaking device, we become a target from the far reaches of the galaxy - a sort of 'War of the Worlds' if you will. Anyone want to build on that story ? :)

Outside The Realm

I love painting.  I love art.  I love life.  Life itself is a vessel - it holds every emotion we hold dear, even the bitter tough ones of struggle.  Please don't forget that struggle itself, is a beautiful, passionate, life affirming emotion.  But I digress - the point of this particular post is to discuss being 'outside the realm'.  When I speak about that, I am talking about digital or even traditional film based SLR cameras.  They are wonderful tools to create an approximation of an image - but they are sooooo incredibly removed from what the eye/brain does that it is really kind of amusing.  Really.  I mean, the only reason an image from a digital camera looks 'ok' is because of the amazing things the mind does with visual data.  Did you know that light falls off at the square of the distance?  What, you might ask, does that mean?  OK, fair enough - if you are two feet from a light source, the energy is four times less (2 to the second  power) - if you are four feet from a light source, the energy is 16 times less (four to the second power) - if you are 8 feet from a light source the energy is 64 times less (8 to the second power) - hmmm, a fun term - ok, you're in a water slide (well, this is an 'inverse' example) and it drops off very quickly, you gain speed rapidly - at an accelerated pace - that is how quickly light is dropping off - but you look at a wall or a scene and you don't 'see' this drop off - what is happening?  The mind is compensating - light energy is in fact dropping off but not in perception, the mind knows this and creates an 'inverse gradient' - because it 'knows' the color of a wall is all one -a camera does not know this - that is why the photographer struggles with 'even' illumination - but a painter knows this.  There are other, crazier things regarding color.  In my e-book on Curious Color I mention that one color can appear another - in fact, grey can 'appear' yellow or blue or any other color - and an artist captures this but a camera does not - because it is 'Outside The Realm'. 

The Dreaded No's

How many times a day do you think about what I call the 'little no's' and build the 'can't, shouldn't, couldn't, won't wall' between yourself and something positive that you've always wanted to do or be? I've been studying 'positive visualization' for quite a while now and one of the things that I think I'm beginning to understand most is it's not the great big things like completing a marathon or winning an oscar or getting into an important museum that you think, no never, not me, not good enough - it's the tiny, daily things. One of the lines I love from Guy Finley is - 'plant a fear seed and you grow a fear tree' - well, I like to think of that in terms of little 'no's' we tell ourselves almost regularly. Plant little no's to little things and great big no's will grow to the great big dreams we all have. What does my piece 'Dream Structure 2' shown here have to do with that? (leaves, fifty coat and calk showing at TAWA's Inside / Out along with Source of All Limits). Well, I dreamed about sitting under a tree and looking up at the branches and what I saw were the leaves crystalized like they were caught in ice. They were beautiful and I thought I should make that - but then I thought, no, nobody will get it, it's silly, why bother. The next thing I had to do was learn how to 'fix' the leaves, so then I researched that and I had to get glycerin and going to the store I thought, no, this is silly. Then I had to get the leaves - it was fall and the leaves were perfect - if I waited any longer they would be dried and shriveled and not their beautiful color - but I was very busy and thought, no I shouldn't take time away from other things - but then I decided to make it fun and my children and I ran out to gather leaves - Ever notice how the smaller the child, the less they build the 'no, shouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't' wall? The sheer joy of collecting leaves for no other reason than loving life. So then I had the leaves - and so on, right up to the very last minute of thinking I shouldn't try to get it into the show - this is what I try and practice, not listening to what I think of as the 'little' no's. Let them pass, and then do it anyway. Do you have 'little no's' - like, I shouldn't comment on this post because... fill in the blanks - or I shouldn't try that ... fill in the blank because I'm too old or too young or too this or too that? I'd love to here what happens when you give this little gift to yourself of not listening to the little no's.


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Source of All Limits

I recently finished this sculpture.  It is clay and wire.  This will be on display at the Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park (8/2/08 through 9/14/08).  I'm always moved when I have works in that particular museum, mostly because when I was three and four I played in the park there.  At that time, it was not the beautifully restored museum it is today - but it was still an impressive house surrounded by a park which was designed by the same person who designed Central Park - Frederick Olmsted.  I think about it, it took me about twenty years to go from playing in Cadwalader Park to showing in the museum there.  Now, when I was going to grad school in NYC, I played in Central Park as well - and it's getting to be about the same amount of time so I figure I'm just about due for the museums surrounding Central Park.  Are there 'thoughts' you find 'self-limiting'?  I'm interested to know what happens the moment you realize they are self-created.

In Lieu of Flowers

I was reading obits recently and I saw the phrase 'in lieu of flowers' and it got me to thinking.  I've seen children's parties as well, where we've been instructed not to bring gifts for the child but rather bring a gift to give away to someone unknown - and I was wondering what it would be like to be a child whose parents instructed friends not to give a gift, grow into an adult who was too busy to be given a gift, and then to pass away and have their loved ones instruct not to give flowers in memory of.  How many times do we miss showing someone they matter?  Is 'giving' to the people closest to you an expression of love?  What is it about abundance that makes us uncomfortable? Can we give flowers and make a donation?  Even in little moments throughout the day - when we can 'give' by making a sweet comment or gesture.  I often wonder how many times we miss telling someone they did something wonderful - because we think someone else will.  I'm interested to know how people handle 'in lieu of'.

Black Gold (Continued)

Continuing the discussion regarding Black Gold, Texas Tea - what I thought about when making that painting was that war isn't so much about the actual raw material - like gold or oil - but the internal fear of loss of control associated with these raw materials.  The raw material, for me, became a human 'emotion' detector of sorts.  If a natural resource makes one think immediately of limitation, then not having it would inspire fear.  And internal fear, would lead to external conflict.  All conflict is at root, internal and can only be resolved through internal examination and reflection.  I went on to make several other paintings along this line - 'Yellow Cake', 'Never Enough' and ' My Father's Kingdom'

I just registered my site at Technorati Profile

Am I Emerging?

So, this is a continuation of thought on the piece described earlier in 'Sketching and Driving' - which one should never do by the way - Anyway - I love working with fifty-coat - even though it is pretty obnoxious to work with.  It comes in a two part mix, and you mix the A and B components of the resin - then you pour it over whatever you want and it seals it in.  What I love about it in particular is how much it reminds me of my favorite artist Vermeer.  See, he was a master at understanding layers - every layer intentional and translucent and light passed through it, bounced on the layer underneath and came back.  I like using masking tape, and other common items, in creating works of art - and pushing them to their limit.  When Vermeer was alive, he'd go down to the local apothecary (drug store) and get the latest resin and pigment and do something amazing with it.  What do you love about the old masters?  Are there any 'new' masters you love?

Sketching & Driving - Continued

So I spent more time thinking about the piece today - I think a lot about my work before doing it.  Sometimes I think that I almost 'think' them into existence.  One of the considerations for this particular work is that it is three panels, 2' x 4' each - and they will be plywood panels probably 5/8" thick and I have to wonder if they will warp, so I imagine making some nice oak strips to 'cradle' the panel with.  I'm always trying to figure out how to make things sturdy without being too heavy.  When I made the first frame for Family Unit Circa 1970, it was made out of oak and weighed a ton because it contained nine separate canvases in one single frame - Yikes!  Then, in the middle of the night, Peter fell out in the middle of the Ellarslie Museum in Trenton, setting off the alarm and bringing in the curator who was none to happy.  But I digress - Do you ever come up really close to a work and try to figure out how it was made? That is one thing I love to do with artwork - maybe one day I'll tell the story of how close I got to 'Portrait of an Old Man in Red' by Rembrandt when I was in the Hermitage museum in what was once Lenningrad. What's the closest you've gotten to a work of art (without touching it of course! :)

One Shouldn't Sketch & Drive

This next piece will be my first 'blog' piece - that is, I am going to attempt to share the process from beginning to end. This process, as a I imagine it at this point, is fairly typical of the way I work, the big question is, will it take a week, or a year, or two years to finish? That, I don't know - No matter how many 'self help' tapes I listen to, I haven't quite mastered the art of regular, methodical 'work' - maybe because it's too much like work? Maybe because I'm scared of the end result? You know, you are always a different person at the end of a work of art, than you were at the beginning - and don't we all, to some degree or another, fear change? But I digress - so, here is a little sketch. On the right side of this image is the front part of the piece of paper, it was on the floor of my car and, as you can see, it is a gas receipt. Napoleon Hill is famous for saying 'start where you stand, and the tools you need will come your way.' And, of course, as usual, he's right - there was a pen jammed in-between the car seats, you know, way down in so you have to keep reaching and just when you think you've got it, the light turns green - and, well, this is important to the story - the idea I had in my head was an image, it came to me at the previous light - and I saw it in its' entirety - three panels, each 2'x4' stacked one on the other - so, it would end up 12' high by 2' wide - a towering column. Each panel is to be done in the same manner as 'Dream Structure I: Version 2' - as a taping embedded in 50 coat. So, it was very important that I found a gas receipt because that looks to me like the correct proportions of the final item - On the left of this image is the back of the gas receipt, the clean white part of the paper that was perfect to begin my 'sketch' - the little squiggle on the bottom is the figure, and the little swirls reaching upward towards the top, is the figure rising, lifting, twisting through the 'dream structure' - the questions that begin to bubble in my head are, can I create the twisting figures in a convincing way, with masking tape - will the transparencies play and how many different color tapes will I use? Can I create a figure within figures and create this dramatic sense of movement upwards - my working title 'Am I Emerging' ?

Black Gold, Texas Tea

This painting was dreamed up in the parking lot of Home Depot. I was listening to the radio about the Iraq war and it struck me, the obvious, yes indeed - it's all about oil. The little song from the Beverly Hillbillies played in my head and grand thoughts of creating a Barnett Newman or better yet, a Malevich. I've always been drawn to Ellsworth Kelly as well - but they were all creating 'abstractions' - and I wanted to make something very simple, very obvious - a direct perception - not a piece of abstraction. But something strange happened in the process. Do you know of strange and simple works that haunt your memories?

Family Unit Circa 1970

Hello. Here is one of my latest paintings 'Family Unit Circa 1970' which can be found at http://www.robertgirandola.com - One area that I am very interested in is this transition from the analog to digital world - in every area from photography to music to our personal records, the very essence of who we are. I sometimes wonder how much of me is a bit and a byte stored somewhere. I know my childhood seems innocent enough, and of course our parents all the more - simpler times. This might seem like a funny connection to this particular painting but I think a lot about the sod farm I grew up near, out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. It took 30 minutes just to get to a grocery store. Playing was running out into the field and finding old tractors or a silo to throw rocks inside - hearing the echoing crash. And now, half the field is developed with many houses - and where I once ran and played is now 'digitized' in a way, parceled out in tiny plots across a once great field. With the analog television signal going away for good next year and the move to digital – to me, has the same emotional resonance as seeing the fields around my house ‘developed’. Do you sometimes think technology is moving all too fast?

Simpler Times

There is a lot of amazing things that can be done with a digital signal - vast amounts of information can be distributed across hundreds of channels in HDTV. Thoughts, identities, ideas can be ‘taken’ and redistributed in the blink of an eye. When I worked on Family Unit Circa 1970 I wanted to take one of my generations most recognizable icons and re-present it in a way that plays with the idea of analog and digital – I was really trying to simulate that disturbing energy feeling of a television set on the boarder between static and signal – the Brady Bunch functions as memory for me, of that ‘innocent age.’ As a child watching programming from three stations, I remember having to go up into the attic to spin the antenna to just the right spot so we could get a clear picture - I would call down to my brothers and sister 'Can you see it yet? Can you see it?' Flash forward to the present state, the ‘static’ takes on a metaphor of disparate, digital data packets coursing through time and space carrying with it the ‘identity’ of thoughts across hundreds of channels – I feel both excited by the new but pensive - How have you been affected by analog to digital? I'd love to hear from musicians -

Today's Thought - Jung

What did Jung mean by this?  Do we have it backwards?  When we sleep, and dream - are we really awake?  When we are awake, are we really dreaming?  Hovering around this thought -  When you look into your heart, can you begin to realize the world around you is a construct of your thoughts - and those thoughts, like dreams, can be changed?  Can you change the world around you by changing the way you think about it?