“In Other Words” - An attempt at using my own words instead of the quotes of others to communicate about myself, my ideas and my paintings.

6363 - In Other Words

Part 1/5 - In Other Words

Life is a grand experiment, if that’s how you like it.  I do.  

6357 - BFO

I’ve had a BFO (“Blinding Flash of the Obvious”) that prescribes a change in method for my experiments in art.   I still trust that giving the artwork I publish the companionship of beneficial text will help others.  “Help” is an adaptogen that means “inspire, edify, entertain, motivate, soothe, energize, and/or confuse (as the precursor to clarity)”.  I have been posting quotes from great thinkers.  My BFO: I have my own lifetime of thinking, some of which is great.  So the new method is to write my own material more often.

I believe that social media meets its quota of quotes from famous people.  What I find most engaging  - and maybe you do, too -  is when people share their authentic ideas in their own original words.  

Part 2/5 - In Other Words

“Write…,” wrote Alan Watts, “… like you’re a bird flying over us and can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves.”  Expressing ourselves authentically saves us from ourselves, on both the individual and the societal levels.  It dismantles the walls that section us off from one another.

6358 - Write

The global brain function and richness of experience that come with maturity give us a bird’s eye view.  I wish to offer you the [bounty/dividend] of my authentic bird’s eye view.  As for my family and other peeps, of course they prefer to know my personal thoughts, what I am discovering about myself and my world.

Much of what I hope to pass on in my writing has a spiritual (but not religious) bent.  I might miss the mark in sparking interest.  It’s worth a try.

Part 3/5 - In Other Words

What spurred my new method of word-communication was the powerful, personal story my daughter, Emily, posted on Instagram recently (@emilee_bronwyn).  The feedback from others showed that her story was powerful for them, too.  

When our experience of life resonates with others, it gives more tangibility to quantum entanglement (the ability of objects and organisms to share a condition or state, even at a vast distance).  It connects us.  It produces coherence among people.  Coherence makes everything function more optimally, from a cell to a laser to an organization.  Besides, it makes us happier and healthier to feel connected. 

Part 4/5 - In Other Words

6359 - Coherence

I have been avoiding creative writing, just as I have avoided becoming an exercise enthusiast. I don't enjoy exercise either. I find that, like others, I tend to quit doing the things I do not enjoy.  What have you discovered through quitting what you didn’t enjoy?

I am now looking for joy in coltishly creating and sharing my own written thoughts more routinely. I can still use as source material my inspiration from reading the words of others.

Part 5/5 - In Other Words

Coltish 6360

In looking for a playful way to enter my new practice, I am looking for ideas from you. So far in life, I have used exploration to learn new skills and to stay interested. Play is the motivator that might keep me creating words, not just pictures.  I hope to grow my interest in writing.  I hope you gain inspiration, edification, entertainment, motivation, soothing calm, vibrant energy, and/or confusion (as the precursor to clarity) from my writing.  Tell me, how would you like to be inspired, edified, entertained, motivated, soothed, energized, and/or confused?  

Thanks to my wife, Lisa, whose influence in editing these words has made a huge difference in my excitement to share them.

Embracing The Mystery 

Do You Love Mystery?

I am a painter of mystery. I think many artists struggle with a mystery phase of creating sometimes called a “Artist Block” trying to decide what to create next. I seldom plan or know ahead of time what I am going to paint. I just start. I seldom know where I am going. The final painting will usually be as much of a surprise to me as to you.

From looking at my published painting you can see that I have good results and not so good results. But I love the mystery of being lost in the painting process with no clear direction. I am just enjoying the process. And unlike being lost in the woods, I can easily choose a stopping point and come back to the less creative tasks of the day and start fresh tomorrow.

If you have never tried digital or abstract painting let me help you grasp what it is like. Remember those days in school when you had essay questions or multiple choice questions? I liked the multiple choice type best. My way of painting is mostly multiple choice, but at every juncture, the choices available are huge.

The main choice I must make to begin with is which application to begin a project with. The final outcome is somewhat guided by that choice. Some applications are very simple but very speedy to deal with. Others have more capabilities in one direction or another. For example Affinity Designer is my favorite for blending different layers because it can instantly show what each blending mode will look like. All of the other layer handling apps that I have make you click and wait a second to see the blend choice result. Sketchbook Pro is great for the wide selection of brushes in the paid version. But when I want to spread digital paint around the screen with a pallet knife, ArtRage is my favorite for it’s wide selection of pallet knife effects.

Some of the other multiple choices I make at each step of the process involve:

What size canvas do I choose?

Which layer do I work on next?

Which color do I use?

Which brush do I use?

Which filter do I employ?

Do I want to distort a layer? 

Which distortion technique do I choose?

This method of painting would work poorly for someone who:

Has a hard time making a decision

Needs to gather all kinds of information to make a decision

Is afraid of making the wrong decision

The wonderful thing about digital painting is the capability to undo what you have just done. So I don’t worry much about making a mistake. If I don’t like what the last decision produced I can easily undo and try another route.

Does that help you understand my type of painting? 

Joel Bowers is a digital artist publishing daily to his www.risingrims.com Web site and to social media such as instagram.com/jmbowers, facebook.com/joelmbowers ,jmba.wordpress.com, twitter.com/jmbisdoing, medium.com/@risingrims

Your Winter Attitude Can Kill You

You Can Change Your Attitude.

Here in Montana it is bitter cold with scary wind chills. I hear a lot of folks voicing their displeasure with the cold weather. Bitching about things that you have no control over is a way to increase your stress levels. High stress levels lead to all kinds of physical ailments and a shorter active life (in my opinion)

You don’t have control over the weather but you can change your attitude. With just a little creativity, you can find something about the weather that you are grateful for. Stop voicing your frustration and learn to cope by voicing your gratitude.

If you can find nothing else to appreciate about the climate, feel grateful that you are eating regularly, sheltered and warm (I hope) and hopefully my shared paintings will help refocus your attention.

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Joel Bowers is a digital artist publishing daily to his http://www.risingrims.comWeb site and to social media such as instagram.com/jmbowers, facebook.com/joelmbowers ,jmba.wordpress.com, twitter.com/jmbisdoing, medium.com/@risingrims

I have neglected posting to this blog in favor of my wordpress blog at https://jmba.wordpress.com/ because wordpress is easier for me to find the button to post a new one.  I know that is a lame excuse. But I also note that this profile is linked to the word press blog also. So I am a bit confused on how everything fits together.

I believe these blogs are pretty well hidden on the Internet and seen by very few people, so I do like to keep my facebook and instagram posting more regular.

Here are the link to my facebook and instagram accounts.

Social Media Experimenting

I have been using the free month long trials of Hootsweet, Crowdfire and Statusbrew to help automate posting to social media for the last month. I never figured out how to connect them to this blog, so posting here has been sparse.

The cost to continue these trials is not justifiable to my current business model, although they have allowed me to flood the social media with lots of postings and gain some followers.

I am reverting to a lower volume posting scheme which may not be optimized for time of postings and will take a little more effort.

Here is an image posted today to my www.risingrims.com Today gallery. This one is called Breast of Rock but is actually the beaver head mentioned in Lewis and Clark journals but tilted slightly.

https://jmba.wordpress.com/2017/07/14/inspiration-in-virginia-city-and-ennis/

Dance Recital, One of My Favorite Creations Today

This is one of todays favorites that I have titled Dance Recital. 

I think I should have left out the two large background shapes and so the dancing images could play easier with the eye.  My daily practice is not meant to create masterpieces but to deepen my experience and discovery of new techniques and things that work or do not appear to work.

I lack formal art training or the time money and patience to slog through an academic art education. I  enjoy the exploration and discovery of the seat of the pants self education I am pursuing.