Wishing Intentions

I realized last night that yesterday's post about music that I want was a wee bit selfish. I had a tough weekend in regards to the ups and downs of the grieving process. I felt like I needed to focus on me a bit. No judgement, just how I felt. I genuinely wish I had that music, but I also genuinely wish for things bigger than me, things like "make love, not war" and so forth.

As Bob Marley did with his whole being and all of his passion, I want to make the world a better place. But I wonder why or actually what that even means? Who am I too judge the state of the world. I don't know Life's plan. Jason's death sure shows that.

People championing causes and using their energy to "make the world a better place" sometimes have muddled intentions. It's always important to remember the storyteller along with the story. Life is individual and each person has theirs to live. That often means intentionally or haphazardly having an impact on other lives. How the others react to the impact is part of their experience, but it seems maybe more selfish to hope to affect others in the first place. It means you want to do something that means you were important, that means you have a legacy to leave, that you left your mark.

I'm like this, don't get me wrong. I want my art to mean something to people, for it to have a wide-reaching impact on humanity. Here's the trick though. Is it for me or humanity?

Heck, I dunno. I do know that 2 pieces (Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne) sold at a group show up in Canada, and a teacher at my mother-in-law's school commissioned the above Legend. So that's cool. Sometimes I think I think too much...

Peace.

SOLD - Bob Marley 08/26/08

Preach What You Practice

What if you had to? I've posed the question about doing things you wouldn't want broadcast on the evening news.

Zack, formerly of Rage Against The Machine, could be a bit of a hypocrit according to a friend who used to work with him. A lot of people are. There are examples a plenty of public figures not "doing as they say".

So, what of it? What if you had to preach what you practice? What if twittering every action was required? What if Big Brother of Orwell's "1984" was a reality? What if your actions had some impact on the next generation of humanity somehow? What if there was some being or energy that watched everything to which you would have to account for your life?

Peace.

SOLD - Zack de la Rocha 07/31/08

The Verve - Blackpool - 6 Nov 2007

I'm sitting here looking out of my Phoenix window at a day that belongs in London.

I'm listening to a very good taping of the show 3 days before the show we saw in London.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed, overflowing with emotion, Life's an Ocean. Intense gratitude for life. Their music definitely is directly connected to what's real. Space and Time. I'm aware of how big little moments can be. Even though I've only got a handful of subscribers yet, and most people who've found my website are looking for vinyl art toys, I'm extremely thankful and want to shake the hands of everyone whose given me moments of their energy, their life. I know it can go unnoticed, unappreciated. I know.

But then you can connect, communicate with Life. Everything happens for a reason, a reason one might not know at the time, but a reason. To be open to that is a trick. Computers crash, garage door openers hesitate, websites show up unexpectedly. I get to paint portraits of musicians I and others love. Then I get to share them. Cool. I really do crave feedback. Not to validate my existence, just to know if I've impacted others' existence. I keep creating profiles at every social networking site I find to do just that, give others a chance to find me, to see what I do, maybe to share me with other others.

I know I'm rambling a bit, repeating myself from earlier today. But I just want to emphasize this content's connection to Life, to what's real. Human contact. Community. And with that, appreciation of individuality and uniqueness. Who are you? Tell, show the world. Open up. I'll listen, and respond.

SO, that's that. Gotta box up Willie! See him in my post from a coupla days ago, or:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and thanks for listen, no I mean, reading.

Exposing Myself

I love doing what I do! I get paid to expose myself! Being an artist is hard, but satisfying in that my direct creative expression is getting attention and appreciation. I put part of myself, my soul, into my art, and yes, my goal has become to sell myself. I used to shudder thinking about that aspect of being a professional artist. Now, though, it feels better than working for someone else. I AM my business. It is frustrating to not get feedback and to feel ignored sometimes, but it has built my self-confidence a great deal. I believe in myself. I'm not sure anybody would recommend becoming an artist to bolster one's self-esteem, but it definitely encourages self-reliance. I have to be my own biggest fan. For me, that's big, as before now, I was my biggest critic, not cutting myself slack for mistakes and imperfections that I far overlooked in others. I still hold myself to high standards, but optimistically!

I'm realizing this on a day with little visible progress. I painted Otis Redding because I wanted to, not for a client. I added an XML sitemap to my website for search engines which already have me indexed. And I created yet another profile/gallery for a free artists' directory with no other posts in its forum since September. Yet, the more things I do to promote my online presence, my artwork, myself, the more I realize that I must consider myself worth it! I'm spending all this time on me!

This post, then, is meant to share my inspiration. Not quite an epiphany or anything too profound, just a simple acknowledgement of how lucky I am to be my own business. My ultimate goal in being an artist is to spread my idea and creativity to as many people as I can, to bring people together by communicating about our collective culture, and to live a human life. It's why we're here I think, to be humans and to be understood as the individuals that we are within humanity.

What do YOU think?

I also submitted a press release to AP.org regarding Newport Nights this October 27th at Primitive Kool in San Diego. Hopefully they'll find it suitable for distribution, but in the meantime, if you haven't:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and see the 16 pieces that'll be on display and for sale!

Otis Redding 10/19/07