Young St Nick

edited study of a Petar Meseldžija drawing

Merry Christmas

Joy

意乐

Joy is a strange word. Surpassing happiness to be a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment. Does it take a lot of work to have joy? Is it something you can work for, or is it a natural by product of of an attitude? Do outside circumstances affect joy? Should they? Seeing beauty, or affection for a child. Connecting with loved ones or talking about how much a person means to you. Those are all filled with joy.

Two little earrings sitting on my desk represent my joy. And yet my greatest sorrow.

Belle Morte

Recently my belle asked me to find a picture that best represents her. I was really confused as to what that meant and how or where to even start. What does that mean, find a picture that best represents someone? I picture her. And all the feelings that accompany the expanse of memories that have been built up over each moment spent together. So where in the world am I supposed to get a picture that signifies all that? Maybe I'm just too literal. A book, a book. She likes to read, & power. The power of a book, persuasion. A story leads the reader through the jungles of the author's desires, hope and dreams, or criticisms. Why books? Aren't they too literal also?

Entzauberung der Welt

The Disenchantment of the World

Max Weber was the foremost sociologist at the turn of the 20th century. He devised the term Entzauberung der Welt or the Disenchantment of the World. The best way that I can explain it is in relation to children's bubbles. Or maybe it would be better to use comfort-zone. A person has a bubble shaped comfort-zone that they like to keep intact. When another person comes into that comfort-zone the bubble has pressure put on it and in some cases the bubble can burst. A person whose comfort bubble has burst may have an outburst and start yelling at whomever was agitating their space. Or maybe they just need to go find some time alone for awhile giving time for the bubble to grow again. Now people are quite more resilient than a child's toy bubble so the bursting is only temporary eventually growing back.

What does this look like in society? If you imagine a society as an organism it has it's own beliefs: cosmology, religion, culture, values, morals. The acceptable behavior that has run through the roots of the society is ingrained in each member from generation to generation as people must conform to the society to be a successful part. As another society's bubble comes in contact with the initial society the boundaries are forced to bend and shift . These boundaries are the answers to the questions of the universe. Why is the sky blue, why does the earth turn, why do we eat with forks and knives or why do we shake hands. Many times members of societies never have to think about why these things are and just accept them as way of life, but as other societies with other ways of life are introduced people are forced to question things that were previously written in stone, engraved in their roots. After the industrial revolution and as a result of the mass exodus from rural to urban cities, many various cultures ended up in close proximity with one another. Urban areas like London and New York are great examples of cites that force people into Entzauberung die Welt.

The Gatekeeper got an Oilchange

It's official. I have lost my brain.

Moving can do a real number on a person, especially when your daily habits are forced to change. I used to drive 45 min to work everyday, which meant 45 min home, too. Now that's a lot of time to do a lot of thinking. Now I have a short walk to work so all I have to do is get up brush my teeth and walk out the door (I may or may not take care of other bathroom business too >_<). Anyway, I haven't had much time just to zone out and let the lull of the road take me into that magical world of thought for the last few weeks now and I'm starting to feel a little lost. Crazy how that is, when you don't have time to lose yourself, you get lost. You would think with living closer to work you would have more time to spend relaxing, but now I just have to be more proactive in planning time to myself (away from a screened device).

Conclusion: Bike rides!

Salut

Hello... I like your,
Happy Face



someday I may
have one too

List/Test Print
Open up your
configuration page
and
send  a copy

Variables

How do you account for

all the variables?

Pose, nationality, hairstyle

clothes, expression, angle, framing,

body type

_________________

It starts with individuals

personality, character.

If you have a back story

then the details fall into

place more naturally

Parts, Peeps & Portraits

Life is like butter:

If it ain't the right temperature

it won't spread

Winchel

Existential crisis. When you're a kid you question everything.

"Dad, why do you go to work?
To pay the bills.

Why do you pay the bills?
To keep living in our house.

Why do we want to keep living here?"


That's the basic question "Why" but it's not just why it's, Why do human's do the things they do? Why DO they want to live in the circumstances they live in? or why do they continue to live in the circumstances they live in. Especially when the circumstances are horrible. Slavery, Abuse, Prison, Monotony, Friendless, Handicapped, Alone. Hope... such small things give people hope. Conditions may be miserable, but if there is one thing that a person can latch onto  there is reason, there is purpose to keep going. I’m reminded of the study done with mice. They were put in a bucket of water left to tread the water for an extended period of time. In one bucket a single mouse was taken out one time per hour for a few minutes then put back in. The other bucket was left alone. All of the mice in the first bucket survived and all of the mice left alone gave up. So, what give human beings hope? A child hopes to grow up. A youth hopes for companionship. Singles hope for love. Professionals hope for success. Elderly hope to be remembered.

Friends

Late nights at the Kogi Truck.

Kingly Charles 

&

Nekkid Friends

(in art form only, thank heavens)

good times

Moving

Ballistics in motion. Packages in motion. moving trucks... weighed down, but still in motion. I think this drawing is appropriate for a day of hauling stuff back and forth, although, she's far too energetic.

Bombs Away

I always wonder what it would be like to be a soldier, how it must feel to fly a plane, have enemies... shoot someone. I think about what would happen to me if I were flying over Japan, if I were the one who dropped the bomb. Such power. Such action. What emotions would I feel as I put the last fuse in place and watch it fall, as it explodes in the air and instantly kills thousands of people. Did it work? was it enough to stop a war? Was it all in vain? Or, did I become so accustomed to dropping different kinds of weapons that this is just another oddly shaped football, a play in a game.

I like bombs though. The idea of them... big powerful weapons capable of mass displacement. Simple, yet strong, dynamic shapes.

The Bomer

I love it when things flow. When you are at that peek of performance and understanding. When all of your influences have internalized and reformed to take the shapes that you create. That is when all the hard work pays off. And I usually call it a fluke because I don't feel like that often. Most of the time I feel like I am struggling to keep my head above water with all the things I want to do verses the time I need to take to warm up not only my arm but also my thinking. Understanding what you are do in art is just as important to dexterously executing it.

Note to self: make this a t-shirt

UglyMugs

I was looking through mugshots of random people, some celebrities, some criminals. This one is Ted Kaczynski. The unabomber. I never thought much about him before accept when I heard about him when I was younger. I just figured he was crazy and had issues. But after reading about him, he seems like any soldier in any war. Trying to make something happen.

"Never lose hope, be persistent and stubborn and never give up. There are many instances in history where apparent losers suddenly turn out to be winners unexpectedly, so you should never conclude all hope is lost."

He is a revolutionary in his own mind, a revolutionary for nature. He was tortured by the sight of big machines tearing up nature and wanted to put a stop to it. I do agree, however, that how he went about it was horrible and taking someone's life should not be put in man's hands. Also he could have gone about it in a completely diplomatic way. He could have gotten a job in the government and worked to create new policies or started an organization that works to raise awareness and protection for nature. I guess it does take someone who is a little crazy to use such violent methods.