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Archive for June, 2009

You Know, I have to be honest here,

To keep up with all the things you must do these days in order to stay in business, is an experience that we all never thought we would have to go through with the way the economy has been. The key to survival is to surround yourself with strong willed and positive people. I have faced many hurdles over the last couple of years and it seems every day I am faced with even more. For someone of my age, it is a challenging thing to over come and keep pushing on because of the fact that Im no spring chicken and basically I should be preparing myself for retirement rather than for survival, but some things are meant to be and others are not. I have always been one to never give up, which is why I have always been able to survive these economic downturns and other harrowing circumstances in my life, but there is something very special and very surreal about this one as I’m sure you will all agree.

From an artists point of view, I am looking at the world in a whole new perspective  in such a way that I really cant explain, or understand and once again I am kicking back with my beloved music collection that is stored on my XM radio because I no longer have the great L.P. collections that I once had. XM Radio has given me something that I use to have over 4 decades ago, ……..geeezzz has it really been that long? ……….. wow,…….but anyway, I have this yearning to create an art piece that, what it will be, or why, I really dont know, but I still have that yearning, or even quest you might say,……ahhh…..( my XM is really kickin’ it now with a little Jethro Tull in the background, what more could you want?……a job?……fame?……peace of mind?)  My thoughts are really running deep now,……but hey, ….. I’m an artist what can I say,….
A friend of mine gave me a call some time ago and introduced me to a product that I believe has kept me going physically through all the changes that this wonderful economy has done to all our lives. I believe if it were not because of this product I would not have improved and maintained my health and energy like I have to get through these tough times.
I have nick named this product for what I believe it to be as truely a gift from the Amazon and has benefitted thousands including myself. Some think of it as “Oh no not another one”  kind of  way, which is what I thought, but as I have grown to experience the true benefits for which it has to offer and stands for I will simply call it ArtJuice to keep the skeptics at bey.

Poco is jammin now and Im ready to start  slinging  some mind matter onto the canvas, I guess I should tell you that I call paint and all other mediums “mind matter” after they hit the canvas or what ever else your slappin’  it on, because after all, until it comes out of the tube it’s still just paint. But once it hits the canvas it’s part of what’s going on in an artists’ mind, as I am sure most creative people who share my world can relate to.

Anyway, as I was saying, everything happens for a reason and I really believe that there’s a purpose for everyone and everything, and fate puts choices in front of us everyday of our lives which directs us to that purpose of why we are all here. I believe I was put here to teach because of my personal experiences that I have endured through out my lifes journey, and I have always wondered why the good Lord has not taken me from this earth. Drugs,  alcohol, homelessness, life,  death………pain…… I have experienced it all, and I hold no regrets, because there was a reason why I was put on this path that I have walked and until earlier this year, did I start to realize why I was living with the pain that I have lived with for so many years and have become so adapted to it. I really thought it was just part of life and that I had to live with it.

 Each passing year the pain became more diffacult to live with,  but I knew I had to keep following my path to each my goals, ………mmmm  Arlo Guthrie……. boy I miss those days……….Oops sorry……..art is my passion, and that is one thing that has stayed with me thick and thin even when I was in the gutter, art was a release from my torment…… suffering …….pain …..but what I didnt realize until I looked back, that fate is what lead me down this path and my art was the only thing that helped maintain my sanity………….Joe Walsh…..Dreams……….it almost seems that way but I assure you my experiences are very real and I have the scars to prove it lol. I have looked through the homeless mans eyes ……..lived it ……..experienced it,  and even saved ones  life  once ……. and would do it again, …….I took the  beating instead of him, …..been there, done that and even painted it afterwords.

It wasnt until recently that I finally realized why I had been lead down this path and it all started with yet another choice that was put in front of me for which I was skeptical, because this path that I had been lead down by fate took something very dear from me unfortunately and that was my trust in human kind, (yet another painting)………Ray Davies………a great line up tonight……………..This is another story but its where my head has been as far as trust is concerned…..

I was introduced to something that I have been using for the last several months which has made my path much easier to follow ……..LOL  No…… I know what your all thinkng …….and no Im not reliving the good ole days  again……..Its been 16 or 17 years since I’ve even had a drink  lol………Little Stevie Winwood …. Dear Mr. Fantasy……  man its almost as if XM radio is reading my mind…… sorry …..

As my pain started to subside, only then did I really start to reflect on my life by looking at things alot more clearer, did I realize how much the pain in my life was interfering with my work…………fate?…..maybe, who knows,…………. I have come to this conclusion though, that if it were not for the  ArtJuice ,as I like to call it, I would still be living with the physical pain and missing what had been put in front of me. I just wasnt able to see it through the clouds of my pain that has riddled my body all these years,  …………Temptations  …. Papa Was A Rollin Stone…………the music line up was meant for this post, its very weird lmao………fate again?……could be……….. I think I really see what’s going on here, because the more I consume the ArtJuice  the less pain I have to live with and the more motivated and pain free I become and am able to pursue this calling . You see I am basically getting to far along in my life to climb around on the ladders and scaffolding and with the encouragement that I have been getting from others that finally, I realized the  need to teach in more ways than one. I need to teach the world what it looks like through a hopeless mans eyes while at the same time teaching others what the true meaning  of hope is, by showing the beauty of life and of the world through an artistic means and to never give up no matter what life throws at you because you see, I have seen it from both sides and I really feel if it were not for the ArtJuice relieving the every day pain that  I have learned to live with all these years that I really think I would still be struggling to get out of bed each morning and thinking more about my pain than my purpose……….fate?……..could be , who knows……….

If you would like to know more about the health and wealth benefits of this gift from the Amazon send me an email or give me a call and I would be glad to share the benefits with you ……………

Peace!

Hi Everyone,

Here it is folks another chapter in the ever changing look of Art-Faux Designs. The first blog was only the beginning and was basically a testing ground for all the cool stuff that’s available out there and with even more technology coming out everyday it’s getting tougher to keep up…LOL

I promised a more interactive site for all, of course we still must keep those spammers at bay and with the new technology it sure seems to work very well. With all this increasing interest in my instructional DVDs I am practically forced to come out with a couple of brand new videos at the beginning of July and these will have special pricing for my email list subscribers just like the last series and maybe even a secret BONUS to go along with these new videos.

Stay tuned…Also if there is a topic you’d like me to cover in the next blog post, please leave me a comment and tell me what you’d like to learn next.

Arthur, Got the video today. I must say, you are a real artist. The column you did was amazing! I am real excited to try this technique. I might be able to give it a try while I still have my broken ankle. Anyway, I had a few questions. First, I have two smaller columns that I had sprayed with oil based satin Impervo. Would that be a suitable base on which to begin applying the glaze? I thought you said that you used oil based paint as a base, but wasn’t sure. Also, I don’t have a lot of aqua creme, would I need to use two cups or can I scale down the proportions of aqua creme to color? Anyway, thanks for all of the help. I will send pictures when of my progress when I start.

Thanks,

Ross

Once again, thanks for the help. As far as your video, (I should have told you I didn’t like it and demanded my money back! ha!) no seriously, I think it was very good. What you are teaching is an art, not a 1, 2, 3 step processes, so the best way to convey that is to just let the viewer watch what you are doing. I don’t think most of us are worried so much about the editing, as what we can learn from the content. Anyway, nice job!

I can tell that this process is not going to be easy. But, that is ok, as I think the results will be worth the work. Usually, I tend to take the harder route anyway on my projects.

Anyway, I am glad I ran across you and your website as you have been extremely helpful!

Thanks,

Ross

Ross,
Don’t worry, you will see, once you get going, how easy it really is, it’s just a little overwhelming at first, just be quick with the first couple of steps for your background and once you get past that, it will start to “talk” to you and you will actually start to see where there should be veining just by how the colors flow. I had a class once where there was a woman that was just having a difficult time doing her first layer because she was trying to make it look like marble to soon and didn’t understand that the first layer was just a toning layer, so I told her
“Here’s how you do it, Put your glaze on”…….
She says, “Well, how do you know where to put it?”
Me, “You don’t” “and that’s not important right now, so don’t worry about that so much, ………close your eyes, …now, put your glaze on”………she does……”now open your eyes”
She says, “Ok…..it looks like mess now what?”………
Me, “You see where you put your glaze on, right?”………
“Uh huh”
Me: “Now close your eyes again and hit it with that sponge and don’t think about it, just does it”……….
Well she did it and she started off kind of slow with it and I told her, “Don’t be afraid of it, just do it, it’s only paint…..don’t spend a lot of time with this because it’s going to get covered up again anyway”……
Me: “Ok, now, open your eyes” she says…..”Oh, wow!” “Did I do that?”
“Yes you did”………”Now break up the spots that look like the sponge marks because remember, in nature nothing is perfect or repeats itself as the same size or shape and blend it with your badger brush, but don’t over work it” ………”Now step back and look at it………..” “Pretty, cool huh?”
The badger brush is one of the most over used tools in faux finishing and I see a lot of untrained faux painters take some of the most beautiful work and just ruin it because they feel this a rule or maybe it’s a natural reaction to the left side thinking again, who knows, but it’s an undisciplined reaction that is automatic that they do when it’s not necessary.
Anyway, she ended up creating the best looking marble sample in the class
This teaching technique built her confidence, because she was having that battle with what all creative individuals fight with, where the left side of the brain competes with the right side which inflicts doubt and prevents you from stepping outside of your comfort zone where your creativity lays. Creative people think outside of the box and are willing to take on challenges outside of their comfort zone, and once you understand how to work with both sides of the way you think you can, with practice, determination and with no fear accomplish anything……
That little tool I gave her boosted her confidence and even though her left side was telling her “Oh you can’t do this, look at it!, this really sucks!, Her right side was telling her to keep trying and add a little here and put a darker color there and she kept going despite of what was going on with the left side and she was able to push that doubt far enough in the background to keep trying, and because she knew all along that she could do this. Once you have an even balance of the way you think I believe anything can be accomplished, which is why I know so many different techniques and art forms. I am always venturing out for more because I know I can do anything, for instance, I taught myself video editing and now I record, edit, and produce my own “How to Faux” DVD’s, because I am at peace with and understand the never ending battle of the left and the right but that’s a whole new post, To bad the leader’s, and the politicians of the world couldn’t understand the creative psyche of the right and left side of the brain and how to use this tool to create a beautiful master piece.
Instead it is being used as a tool for greed and personal gain which in my opinion is where the “right wing and left wing” political terms have come from. The irony of it is very surreal to me, almost to the point of being evil, but again I am only an artist with an opinion and a dream of maybe one day all the leaders of the world really look at the artists way of expressing their thoughts, creativity, and ideas to be utilized instead as looked upon as just another painting, or just another sculpture, but they just can’t see past the evil that has actually masked the good that could become of it…….
Think about it……..
Peace!

There are several artists that I have studied with over the years and if it were not for all of them I would not be where I am today.
First off, I would like to thank Donna Phelps of the Sarasota School of Decorative Arts and Architectual Finishes who I met many years ago when I was in search of expanding my education into the decorative arts and if it were not for her I probabaly wouldnt have met most of these artists that I have met.
So to show my appreciation for them all I am going to write a little something about them and how they have influenced my life
The reason for this post is to bring attention to an artist that I met just last year through a class that with Donna’s hard work hard work managed to put it together for November of 2008 …….Thank You Donna ….. I am very greatful …..

Now I am going to write a little bit about each artist that has been an influence on my life and after being notified that there was a very special video that had been posted by Teresa Rogers Cochran I had to jump om this right away because I feel so strongly about what this man has accomplished by this 5 year project. I first started researching this artist some years ago after Donna had introduced me to yet another artist who also was a guest instructor at her school. Some how she sensed the kind of knowledge I was in search of even when I didnt know myself and so I was introduced to Sheri Hoeger an airbrush artist of Big Oaks Art Studio in California, you see Donna and I actually became close friends over the years and she probably knows me better that I know myself sometimes lmao. Shes had to put her foot down with me a couple of times. lol

Sheri is one of the most talented airbrush trompe loeil artists I have seen and I became drawn to her way of teaching because of how she deals with each person on an individual basis as do most of the artists that I have studied with and it was through Sheri that I had first heard of William Cochran.

I will talk more about Donna and Sheri later on in my “Inspiration” blog series but before I do I MUST get this one out for the world to see. In these economic times I think everyone should here this story and I can only hope that it does for you, what it has done for me.
In the summer of 2008 I was suffering through a tremendous amount of artists block that was destroying my creative energy. This was something I heard of and never have experienced it personally and quite frankly thought it was bullshit. Well let me tell you something….. it is something that is very real and very devastating….period. I would sit for hours staring at a blank canvas or board or whatever and I wanted to paint, but and absolutely nothing could get me motivated, inspired, energize whatever term you want to use, but it was destroying me creatively and nothing seemed to work to get that DRIVE, that ENERGY, that EXCITEMENT, going ………nothing…………………………………………………………..depression set in…………something has to be done

So after realizing that I had to do something about it I started researching the internet and for some reason I ended up on Williams site and remembered how Sheri had talked about William , his passion , knowledge , Inspiration and I read every single word on his site, his work , his accomplishments , his Inspiration and believe me its a big site lmao.

This moved me in a way that I can not explain and probably never will be able to, but I knew I had to meet this arist………

I searched and tried to find out if he was going to be teaching somewhere and I did find out that he was doing guest instructions at Sheri’s Studio at Big Oak Arts and from they way it looked, he was there on a regular basis which was only a couple of times a year well I was stumped, I dont know what it was or why it was but I knew I just had to get to one of his classes, but the only thing was with learning from William he will not take you as a student unless you had his prerquisite which was a color value study of a bust of “Cesar”…………………mandatory………..shit! I missed the class at Big Arts………….

Now I believe everything happens for a reason, people, places, things,circumstances………wrong…….right……..good or bad…………..everything ……… has its reason for happening in this universe and the only thing that matters is the outcome of the choices that you make……..

Well the phone rings……and it was Donna (I’m always glad to hear from Donna) and she tells me that “Art I think i may have something here you might be interested in” and she tells me that William Cochran is going to teach his prerequsite class in November…………yes the excitment was overwhelming and actually lifted me up on my feet and encouraged me to get off my ass and paint something even if its wrong! “paint it fool !” I did …………a friggen mess…………..and I burned it………..

At the time, money was not flowing, the economy was shit, and of course the kind of work that I am involved with is more of a luxurey than it is a necessity and of course, when people tighten up on the proverbial pocket book us artists are the first to go of course, I just didnt have the money for the deposit……….period. Something or someone must have whispered something into Donna’s ear because she says to me, ” I know that times are tough and for a few of us she was willing to let us make installments for this class…….everything happens for a reason…………….fate?………reason?……who knows………I was excited..

November couldnt have come fast enough lmao……..and at last the first day of class……….be careful what you wish for!

After a week with William, I finally understood why the first class was mandatory, it was creatively challenging and gruelling and very very full filling…… I was eating this up like a fat kid at a pie eating contest……….hook line and sinker…… lol because he teaches in such a unique way that seperates a “true trompe loeil” from a “faux trompe leiol”, yes folks there is a difference and I didnt get it until the last day of the class, roflmao……..I walked out of Donnas after the fifth day with new found energy and Inspiration . William not only teaches you how to paint but how to look at things not only artistically but philisophically. He teaches you how to look at light in a whole different way, be open with yourself and to get in touch with the artists mind and how it works and how to deal with the constant battle that goes on with the right side and left side of your brain.

I have been more than just creative with my painting and my art, and I think if you really look at this blog closely and see everything that has gone into it and have been following me closely you will see that being creative goes beyond the canvas…………………….way beyond………………..everything happens for a reason……………………………fate?……………………………who knows

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