Another Man's Treasure

He signed it! As my contest draws to a close at the end of the month, at the beginning of which I first showed you this piece, I received my painting back from Mr. Lynch, signed and ready to be framed and sent to his foundation.

Hopefully this will become someone's treasured possession, acquired at auction for a good cause. Right now this is my biggest hope, that I can bring in funds for various charities with my art. Those who get my newsletter know of one coming up in the Fall. (If you want my newsletter, just shoot me an email.)

From the very beginning, when I started thinking big with promoting my Vinyl Art, I of course had my Oprah fantasy. Mine was to somehow give a painting of Bono, tinted red, to Oprah, have Bono autograph the record on the show, and then auction it off for (red). It hasn't happened yet, but I still have the painting.

This unexpected connection with David Lynch has got me goofy. He is seriously one of my favorite auteur directors ever, and to get to help him out is amazing. We'll see what can come of it!

Peace.

Life Online

I just read a post by Trent Reznor on his NIN site basically about backing away from social media and life online in general. See, he's in love. So cool. It's great to be able to see into other people's bubbles.

What's awesome is that he's just a guy. A guy like you and me, living his Life. That's what's so cool about this new direct connection between creators and consumers. I strike up a conversation online with Jason and then he ends up commissioning this Bono for his wife for their anniversary. No middleman, no service provider other than the mostly invisible network provider and Twitter. Just Jason and I.

I think what's happening is sort of the re-humanization of money, capitalism, commercialism, consumerism, and production. We get to see Pres. Obama eating a burger, looking at art. Yes it's a buzzword, but transparency is truly a good thing.

I know I pay more attention now to checkers at stores. I think more about the workers at the factory that made the crap I'm buying. I think more about the farmers and the people who made the machines that feed me. I feel connected to people through stuff. Not isolated by that stuff.

Hugh MacLeod just got his brilliance published, in the system, at Border's. You can buy it on Amazon for your Kindle. Cool. Even cooler is that I have a connection with him, personally, online. It is real, true.

For someone basically just starting out, just reaching out to find his audience, the ability to connect directly, genuinely is amazing. One can develop a friendship with someone in Chicago or Canada just as easily as around the corner. That friendship can involve commerce just as easily, without establishing the traditional salesman/customer relationship that essentially isn't real. One can truly connect with humanity, with creativity, with culture. One can have those connections with fans who are friends and friends who are fans, people who come to care.

You realize, I'm talking about me and you.

Peace.

SOLD - Bono 06/10/09

Blog Action Day 08: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For [EC]

This year, Blog Action Day is about poverty. I've painted Bono because of his passionate history of working to make our world better. It is in us. We can be better.

The problem is that we think "better" means we need to do something to get there. Again, it is in us. Already.

WHAT are we looking for?
What are we LOOKING for?

We don't need to look. We just need to acknowledge. To listen, to understand, to love. This applies to everybody and everything, as it is.

Action will follow once we recognize that everything is already within us. When we have allowed ourselves to love our selves as we are, we won't compare our selves to others, we won't beat our selves down, we won't get mad at others for seeming to be in better circumstances, we won't try to beat them down, we won't get scared of getting worse, we won't attack things and people different from us. We won't take, we won't hurt, we won't destroy. We won't cause poverty of spirit, mind and body.

We will bring out what is good in all of us. We will love us. We will unite. We will give, we will heal, we will create. We will rise above poverty.

The other reason I've painted Bono is that, as part of my taking action to make things better, this piece is one of my Elliott Collection paintings for charity. The deal is $100 of the $175 price for the framed piece goes to a charity of your choice. You send me 2 checks, one to the charity, one to me. I send the charity check off to that charity in your name.

That ties the piece to your memory of giving as well as helps me change the world, getting us closer to

Peace.