Hi all!

Welcome to a new section of my blog. I’ve been going through a lot of changes in my life and of course, as an extension of my life, this blog is going to become an outlet for those changes which will follow me and grow as I grow. I’m hoping that as I develop and progress in my own life that what I discover I can pass along to you.

The changes that I’ve been going through are very personal and I’m not ready just yet to open myself up to the online community about all of my life but what I can share, that which I think is beneficial to everyone, I shall share.

One of the things I’d like to share with you is my appreciation for music and also my personal experiences and understandings with the songs and bands that I find are helping me in my daily life.

I’ve spent a good deal of my life searching for bands that push themselves beyond the limits of their abilities in an effort to elevate themselves and their listeners to a level beyond the purely physical. This has led me down the path of progressive rock and to a few dark holes where free thinkers have buried themselves deep. It is my hope that the songs and bands that I’ve found, the bands that help me through their lyrics, their messages and music will also be able to help you too.

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Hi all!

Art is amazing. Being able to make Art is even more amazing. If you’re an Artist then you belong to a fantastic subsection of society that should be heralded more than it currently is (grumble, grumble).

Recently, while working with a gentleman (Jim) who is actually well versed in the ins and outs of artwork and its creation, I was asked a question about my painting that seemed quite poignant. He asked, “Do I plan out a composition to the last ‘T’, or do I give a painting a bit of leeway to take on a life of its own?” Good question.

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Hi all!

In my experiences of painting I’ve done a lot of things. I’ve done realistic work. I’ve done abstract work. I’ve done multi-media work etc. etc.

Some of it has been really good. Images of the ones that I care about are viewable on this blog. Those that I don’t care about, paintings, drawings and multi-media artworks alike you’ll never see because quite frankly, I destroy them.

That’s right, I destroy them. Gone forever. Ripped up, torn up, painted over. Gone.

You may be wondering, “How can I do this?” Well, it’s easy. It comes down to one simple rule: Don’t show anything that you don’t want to be known for. To learn more about this idea please have a look at the companion article to this one, “Put Your Best Artwork Forward”.

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Hi all!

So the other day I was in Wal-Mart (a fact I’m not proud of. I usually champion the little guy but I currently have no money) and I was witness to a scene that I found quite amusing. In fact, it made me laugh out loud in the faces of the people involved.

You know how all stores have central aisles and branching off from those at ninety degree angles are secondary aisles? And you know how at the end of the secondary aisles they’ll have special products or displays set up in the central aisles designed to catch the eye of unwitting shoppers? Well, my story takes place around one of those displays. When I worked for Blockbuster Video they were called ‘end caps’. If you ever have or currently are working retail then you know what I’m talking about.

Let me set the scene. I had a selection of inexpensive “mom and pop store destroying” items in my hands and was walking towards the one thru fifteen item checkouts. While walking down one of the central aisles there was a woman a few paces in front of me pushing a shopping cart. In front of her standing in the central aisle was another lady looking at an ‘end cap’ display of items from the pharmacy department. I believe it was a selection of pain killers such as Tylenol and Aspirin.

Well, as the woman with the shopping cart approached the lady who was looking at the analgesics the lady who was contemplating killing her pain stepped two paces back, away from the display to allow the woman with the shopping cart to pass. I thought in my head, ”How kind for her to do that.” Well…

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Hi All!

This is an article all about standing up for yourself because no one else will do it for you.You should find this amusing, I sure did!

Recently I had the opportunity to do a portrait for a nice young family who wanted to commemorate the first birthday of their only son, Aris. Seems Aris was a bit of a miracle baby and his parents wanted to remember the end of his first year in a very special fashion.

I answered their ad for a portrait painter on the buy and sell website KiJiJi. It wasn’t a lot of money, at least not what I would have liked, but they couldn’t afford more and I was game regardless.

I have to tell you, I really enjoyed doing the piece and seeing as how the subject matter is a little less fantastical than I’m used to I think I did a pretty good job as far as portraits go. I haven’t done one since I was in University, well over a decade now.

I thought, since I had such a good time doing it, I would offer up my services as a portrait painter on KiJiJi, see if I could drum up a few more commissions, make a few more dollars.

The very first reply I received about my ad actually came twice and it was from some tool who didn’t think my painting was very good and that I would benefit from taking classes with him. Here’s what he wrote:

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