Interstellar Chicks

Interstellar Chicks

New picture

 

 

I just remembered another principle that I Believe In.  That makes three principles.

 

 

Dear Janet,  

 

Now listen, you must stay away from belief statements and politics.  And do not write about family.  No, it is OK to write about family.  Just say that we are all loving and harmonious. And successful. Which is at least partly true.  Listen, Janet, this is a blog,  millions of people have access to reading this.  So don't be stupid, stay away from religion, politics and true confessions.  Think about it,  it is not like you are an expert on these subjects. Just write about the painting process and your garden.  You have plenty of material.  Oh, and no sex.

 

 

Yours truly,

The Voice of Reason

 

 

I just remembered another principle that I Believe In.  That makes three principles.  The first two are compassion and gratitude.   

 

I believe in praying or meditating.  I pray to the Goddess,  because the concept of a female deity is much more acceptable to me than a God.  He is a god of revenge.  Punishment. (John Wayne playing Moses).  She is the ideal mother.  Unconditional love. Every person's beliefs are just intellectual concepts.  Picked up, for better or worse, when we are children.  Or, preached by charismatic thumpers who may or may not have our best interest at heart.  Or, maybe arrived at through convoluted thinking.

 

I refer to Wikipedia again:

 

Religion is an organized collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values.^{[note 1]} Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the Universe. From their ideas about the cosmos and human nature, they tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.^[1]
Many religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of a deity, gods or goddesses, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain mythology.^[2



So, if there are 4,200 religions in the world, and only one is right??; then, what are the odds that I will pick the right one?  That I would even hear about the right one?

Formal religions are supported by a collection of words related to concepts.  At best they are a weak representation of the unknowable. The words are about the experience of spirit, which is beyond human intellectual comprehension. We can not verbally express  the mysterious vastness of being.  Given grace, we may experience spirit.  If we want to write words about the experience, then, much will be lost in translation. 

I asked myself.  What beliefs will make me feel better?  Contribute to my life in a sustaining manner?  What do I personally believe is good?  Have you ever asked yourself truly, "What do I believe?"  It is a long and winding road to sort out the values of your heart from what you have been told to believe.

I will share with you the prayer that I made up.  I thought of my favorite words.  I had been saying a Buddhist mantra, in Sanskrit words. I thought that words with meaning for me would work better.  I think this prayer repetitiously whenever I can remember to do so.  When a stupid song, that I do not want to hear, is playing on my brain radio, then I replace it with this prayer.  It calms me down from stress. Psychoneuro research has shown that the recitation of a mantra has physiological effects.  The calmness that the meditator feels is a mirror of chemical and electrical changes in the body.  I use this mantra whenever I am worried about safety.    Sometimes I find it running thru my inner radio automatically, replacing the monkey chatter channel that I usually hear. A simple mantra has many uses.  

 

Prayer Mantra of Favorite Words

I love the Goddess of
light, peace and harmony.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Stop in the Name of Love

Stop!  In the Name of Love

 

Stop! In the name of Love.

 

Before you break my heart,

 

before I break your heart,

 

before you break your heart,

before I break my heart.

 

Think it o-o-over.

 

 

 

The words here are a shameless paraphrase of a 1965 song, sung by Diana Ross and the Supremes, "Stop! In the name of love". Written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland.  Motown.  Oh Yea! Over the top fashion. Motown sound, take me away to jiggle dance town.

Guano Crazy

Skull Clown

Digital 2550X3330 pixils

 

 

 

 

 

GUANO CRAZY

 

 

 

You may or may not have noticed that I have that, rather epidemic, disease called Irony Disorder.  I do hope that you picked up on the irony, because other wise you might think that I am Guano Crazy.  I am rather off beat in the head, (a touch of ADD, Attention to a Different Drummer),  you know, just the normal confusion of living in an upside down culture.  Slightly demented but not Guano Crazy. You believe me, don't you?

 

There is normal crazy and Guano Crazy.  Guano is bat shit, it collects in the bottom of bat caves and makes excellent plant fertilizer.  I try to avoid the bat shit crazy people, because, crazy is contagious.  Having a few crazy as feces, work mates, neighbors, family members, and living in a social milieu of folks just hanging on by their fingernails,  means that I do have contact with rather high levels of psychosis.  When the stress level gets toxic, I get in my car, drive around and scream. I stay on roads that I know well, without too much traffic.  That is pretty effective, it lets off steam and in the car I will not disturb the neighbors.  I reserve the screaming for when I need to exhale some very unbalancing vibrations.  For just plain, I cant take it anymore crazy, I work in my garden.

Well, at some point I realized that I had to put up with some guano or I would be really lonely.  What is the point of being sane if you cant share it with anyone?  You believe me, don't you?  Mostly I am happy.  Positive thinking with a healthy sprinkle of denial helps.

The one thing that I really do believe in, the one principle that clarifies my mind, is the  practice of compassion.  I think too much and cant really pin down any other ideal.  Compassion says it all for me.  Simple but not easy.  If I find myself being judgmental, I think about all my stupid mistakes.  I have a more than few memories that put me right in my place.  That place not being very high on the well adjusted list. 

It is spring here in the Louisiana boonies, so far in the sticks that we pipe out sunshine.  I over ordered from the plant catalogue.  So, I must get dirty almost every day, to get seeds and baby plants  in the ground before it gets too warm. My garden is where I feel most peaceful. 

Oh, wait, I remembered another principle that I Believe In.  That makes two principles.  I try to practice gratitude.  I do have so many things and people who make me thankful.

 

 



 

 

Elvis, Hoss Head

Digital painting

 

 

 

Elvis Hoss

Digital painting, revisited

 

 

Is There Sex After Death?

There is sex in heaven.  I know that it is true, because I saw it on television.  It was a beautiful documentary with butterflies and flowers, or maybe it was a drama. 

Also, in case you missed it, the Weather Channel, TWC, said that the apocalypse is coming, so I went out and bought a gun. 

 



Gotta go,  I haven't watched my programing programs yet today.

Victory

 

Two Riffs on Winged Victory of Samothrace

Recent digital paintings



Victory!  Victory! Winged Victory makes visible the elation of overcoming obstacles.

The beautiful statue of Victory of Samothrace celebrating the Greek Goddess Nike, is justifiably one of the most recognized and admired art works in the world.  In the Louvre she is stunningly placed on a majestic marble stair landing. She can be worshipped from a distance, from below and from above. Look at the movement of her.  Stone made into ideal flesh and blood.  An emotional epiphany.  She is both gliding, flying and at the same time grounded.  I am grateful to be able to compose a riff of this beauty.  It is a pleasure to study her masterful drapery, and her body language. Spending time, painting her, stimulated my mind to contemplate the delicious promise of victory.

 

Victoire de Samothrace

Photograph of the stature in the Louvre

 



 

Belushi Bacchus

Oil on canvas, 36"x48", 3/13/2013

 

 

 

 

 Belushi in Paradise

 

John Belushi does not live here anymore.  He moved to Heaven on March 5, 1982.  He enjoys Paradise better than Earth, but at times, he misses the sweet exciting static of Saturday Night Live.  John's special powers are his mesmerizing dancing moves and the ability to zapp his enemies with humor until they fall down in helpless hysterics. 


All the Gods and Goddesses from all times and localities live together harmoniously in Paradise.  All live peacefully except for the gods of war.  Tlaloc, Athena, Muhammad and Jehova and their ilk find many enemies with which to tangle. The Holy Spirit, Zeus in the position of CEO of Heaven, commanded that the warriors are only to war with willing participants.  "Leave the peaceniks alone".  Also the warring area is restricted to the Jousting Arena.  No trees, art museums or other environments will suffer from the devastation.  War in Heaven is in one significant aspect different from war on Earth.  No one dies.  That's right folks!  No grieving moms, widows or orphans left behind.

The Greek god of wine, Dionysus lived many hedonistic years on Elysian Fields Avenue.  After about two thousand years of burning the candle at both ends, he outgrew self indulgent behavior. He made an afterlife change and began a rigorous meditation retreat with Sidhartha Guatama Buddha. The pantheon position of  Holy Wild Liberator was left vacant.  John was ecstatic when Zeus elected him to the position. John took the Roman name, Bacchus. 

You can see that Belushi has been buffing up at the Olympus Health Club.  Elvis, looking very fit himself, is his trainer. Elvis, as the manifestation of the Hindu God, Hayagriva, looks more handsome than ever with a horses head.  His sexy snarl and molasses voice have not changed.

 John is in training for another Mission from God.  The Holy Spirit has commanded this mission:  Bacchus shall refrain from meddling in human affairs for most of the year.  He is allowed to incite hedonistic behavior only for Mardi Gras, and maybe important birthdays and maybe big celebrations.  Bacchanalias are to be restricted primarily to holiday bashes.

 Humans need to be goal oriented and guard their chi most of the year, so they should worship Demeter, whose powers are, giver of food,  mother goddess, nurse, moral justice, and legislator.  She presides over sacred law and occasionally enacts divine retribution. Hmm, divine retribution, that means if you are really bad she will get you.  Don't piss off  Demeter.

The Holy Spirit named these new behavioral guidelines, "The Balanced Life".  He encourages humans to express their orderly, socially responsible side, and only occasionally let their wild side out of the basement.  

This picture has captured Belushi Bacchus one evening just as the party is just starting to roll.  He is tweeting, "Hot blooded humans invited now to the Burning Ends Festival.  6969 Desire Street, NOLA."  Phrasing his invitation in euphemistic code so that only the cogniti  understand.

Painting the Picture

 

This image has been my friend for more than a year now, giving me plenty of time to think about what it represents.  Deities may be seen to represent certain human needs, desires.  They are guiding stars.  The Greek deities are known for bad behavior.  Bad God, bad God.  (Isn't the similarity between dog and god funny?)  Zeus and Venus are known for their erotic episodes.  Zeus raped Leda.  Cronus ate his children. They meddle in human affairs and cause chaos.  Greek gods, along with most all gods, encourage war,  they order their humans to kill the infidels.  In most wars both antagonists claim to have god on their side. 

 

Note to self: focus, focus.

 

This picture started as a digital image.  I used Caravaggio's masterpiece as a model.  It is a humbling activity to redo a classical painting. Trying to paint after a master artist makes me aware of my limited skills.  But the act of copying parts of the masterpiece challenges me to improve.  Redoing a classical picture is like a performer singing, reinterpreting an old, much beloved song.  I make an interpretation of an ever popular picture.  So much classicalism is relevant today, some basic human attributes do not change.  To make the painting "now", I add current props.  I doubt that Carravagio ate bananas (are they from South America, which was not yet exporting to Europe at the close of the fifteen hundreds) .  The banana is a Warhol reference.  Parts of the drapery reminded me of O'Keefe. 

 

Speaking of Bacchus, Wikipedia says,  He is also the Liberator (Eleutherios), whose wine, music and ecstatic dance frees his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subverts the oppressive restraints of the powerful

In Freud speak Bacchus is lord over the id.

 

I began the oil on canvas painting about six weeks ago. To begin,  I printed out references,  my digital Bacchus, Caravaggio's masterpiece, pictures of John Belushi, and some chest shots of hunky males. The canvas was preprimed and stretched.  I sketched in the major lines with conte crayon.  I did the first coat of paint with burnt sienna acrylic paint.  Switching to oils, the color was deepened and blended (which is a specialty of oil) and I painted details.  Belushi's chest hair was styled by Dancing Brush. Some areas got pattern rather than realism. In a few spots I used the tiny sable brush.  I photographed the canvas and put it back in photoshop.  I touched up the photo, because I am not such a good photographer. I rock with photoshop.  The oil paint is drying now.  I want to change some things, but, at some point the work must be abandoned.

 



 

Kindred Spirit

 

 

 

 Circus of the Moon

Digital Painting, completed about a year ago

 

 

 

KINDRED SOUL WITH A THOUSAND EYES

On Monday, the first day of the work week, when I valiantly try to pull myself together, and when I try to organize confusion and rectify regression,  I phoned Hughes Net tech support.  We had been unable to get on the internet, something wrong with the connection.  We were unable to find out the latest exciting adventures of Kim Kardashian and Paris Harlot.  We were unable to buy more stuff,  from the comfort of our own home. I think that there is a little space left where we can stuff more stuff in the closet.  We were loosing track of our Facebook friends, what were they having for lunch?  Did they take a picture of their shrimp and oyster po-boy?  This was serious, something must be done.  

After finding the Hughes phone number, dialing, navigating the labyrinth of which button to push, getting a real person to talk to,  validating that I am really myself, being transferred, validating that I am me, being transferred, and assuring that I am still myself (by this time I was beginning to wonder if my multiple personalities were acting up again), I connected with Gandhi on the phone.  Gandhi is not his real name, I am sorry to say that I did not catch his name, but we will call him this most honorable of names. 

As I followed his directions, Gandhi, in his beautiful voice, walked me, patiently,  through various computer maneuvers. I followed directions and was soon ready to test the internet connection.  As my phone partner and I waited for the home page to open, I asked him,  "Where are you?"

"India."
"I am in Louisiana" spoken with the imperialistic assumption that he knew where the disaster and corruption state is located.
"How is the weather there".
"We have had too much rain, but I think that the sun is coming out.  Early spring is here, the huckleberry is blooming".
"Do you like nature?", Gandhi questioned.
"Yes, nature is important, it feeds the soul.  OK, the home page has loaded".
"OK, now see if it can pull up a web page."
I think, click for a web page.  Then say, "I am pulling up Wikipedia."
"That is unusual, not many people use that site".
"Not everyone is curious". I laughed.
"Ahh," he paused, " my father taught me,  'A person is born with two eyes, but, if he is curious and if he reads, then he has a thousand eyes'".
I thought, I processed words until the concept dawned, "That is wonderful,  I want to tell my children about that".
"I told my daughter, but she didn't listen".
"Some things are the same, the world over".

Wikipedia loaded.  We rang off with sincere thank yous.  I felt a bit warmer and happier. I wished that I had caught his name. I thought about the distance between us, and the differences in our situations. I thought about our voices traveling thousands of miles instantaneously. It was a chance, ephemeral meeting of kindred souls.  I wished that I had asked him to pull up my blog. If he left a message, then we could continue the dialogue.  I wished that I had said, occasionally, maybe, I wish, you/I speak wisely, perhaps it will come back to the children, in a few years, when they are ready.  See, you remembered what your father said.