No Light Without Shadow

I was standing next to my John Coltrane portrait at the Open Studios event at http://santamonicaartstudios.com last weekend and a thought struck me. Following that show I sold the above Freddie Mercury, which reminded me of that thought.

Both pieces have black on the label because they're white. It's a challenge to paint pieces like that with just white on the record and black on the label. I have to make sure the light on the record is balanced by the shadows on the label, otherwise the portrait is broken.

I've been sharing Zen and Taoist quotes on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dedlen recently. A lot of them are about recognizing the yin and yang of life, the two sides of things when distinction is made. I don't particularly like adjectives because they require and create categorization and differentiation, but they exist in our lives. So one has to find balance between the two sides, between the light and the dark.

Like I do when I paint shadows on the label and the light on the record.

Peace.

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creating art on the artifacts of creativity

http://danieledlen.com

Love Is Not Capital

Larger-than-life performers like Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury often live personal lives with few close "true" friends. They sacrifice their own happiness to give it to those for whom they perform in what Hunter S. Thompson called "The Curse of Fame". Mercury was quoted as saying, "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."

The outpouring of love from fans of MJ since his death last week is our way of giving back to his soul, wherever it may be. It's a recognition of how much we take from public figures. Love cannot be paid like money, it cannot be capitalized upon. It is a different form of communication altogether.

Love is unlimited in space and time, unlimited in amount, and unlimited in power and action. I just don't get why our society is so caught up in accounting, in keeping track of who owes us what. It sucks souls. It alienates individuals. It polarizes groups. It squashes passion.

I just wish there was a way for humanity to focus more on giving love than taking capital from those who choose to share their creativity and passion with the world.

Peace.

SOLD - Freddie Mercury 06/29/09

15 From Across The Pond

Since The Beatles have had the biggest impact on my musical taste, it's natural that I like any decent Brit pop, prog rock or metal. Getting to see the Verve in London is going to be extraordinary for my wife and I. It seems that most of the music I've listened to over and over, especially recently, is from the UK:

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
Queen
Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd
Genesis
10cc
Nick Drake
Oasis
The Verve
Stereophonics
Gomez
Kasabian
Arctic Monkeys

A couple people have suggested I paint Nick Drake, so if anybody happens to have an LP of his on vinyl that they're looking to get rid of, please let me know, ;) Right. Sure. But here's hoping! If you want to see more of what I do with old LPs, scan through more of my blog and also:

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

I'm not adverse to shipping oversees either. UK galleries particularly seem very hip.

Freddie Mercury 09/27/07