When I took the original picture years I was in awe of the surroundings. So, to think that it could be even more dramatic was unimaginable. But, I do love the artistic effects of this version.
Even More
Author: RJ Walters
I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life.
Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
A Peek Into The Night
The photo from which this “MyMindsEye” artsy was made was taken on Christmas Eve 2008 at the Chicago Navy Pier. Since we are “elder orphans” we are on our own for most holidays and such so we spent an enjoyable few days just pampering ourselves
If you haven’t figured it out yet, it is a very artsy streetlight on the pier.
Another World
I have decided to do primarily create “MyMindsEye” images here at MyArtsySide for 2026. If you haven’t guessed already this one is of a couple of the remaining pieces to be placed in a picture puzzle I just completed. I love taking images and making them abstracts. It adds a little mystery to the image.
There is just something about working picture puzzles that calm my mind.
Festivals
Just another wild brainstorm.
A Little Book That Changed My Focus…
I’ve been looking for new project for MyArtsySide for 2026. It’s been a struggle. Put this on top of the same challenge for my other blog at RJsCorner, I have mostly just been spinning my tires of procrastination. I was determined to resolve it before the end of January. Well, I missed it but not by too much. I was browsing Amazon for books that might give me a clue for what I will do for the year.
The book as shown to the right is made up of one and two-page observations from everyday life. Since I am pretty much homebound now in the RetCom, that sounded right up my alley.
I will be using this little book as inspiration for my new “I Noticed” artsy category going forward. In addition to my usual photo and digital images I will attempt to master some hand-drawn stuff similar to the “I Noticed” book.
Another type of art I hope to become accomplished at is macro-photography, that is taking magnified closeups of everyday things and then quizzing you as to what they are. I will admit that MyArtsySide is just not getting the views I had hoped for it. I am not going to give up just yet, but that might happen sometime down the road.
A Psychedelic Snowball
I simply can’t stay away from Digital Doodle Abstracts forever. I gotta flush them from my mind in order for other stuff to take root. Life would be a more interesting journey if we could actually see snowballs like this.🤣
Post-Impressionism
This current sideline of the 2026 project is to learn about the Post-Impressionism art movement.
Post-Impressionism is a predominantly French art movement (c. 1886-1905) reacting against Impressionism, where artists like Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Seurat used vivid colors, thick paint, and distorted forms to express emotions and ideas, moving towards abstraction with symbolic meaning rather than just capturing fleeting light and naturalism.
I became familiar with Van Gogh in my pre-teen years in the mid-1950s and have had his painting “Starry Night” on my walls ever since. There is just something about the vivid colors and distorted forms that drew me in. I am already in the middle of two thick books on this short-lived art movement and eventually hope to mimic it in my own style of artsy.
One of the many stories about Van Gogh is that he suffered from tinnitus and cut his ear off to stop the constant ringing. Of course, it didn’t help. I, too, have suffered from “ringing ears” for most of my life. That gave me the first commonality with this troubled artist. As I learned more about him, many more would follow.
This is the first Artsy post that is doing something besides images. I am learning a lot about artsy and just feel that I have to bring you along for the ride. So, some posts here will go into the “teacher” mode. I hope you don’t mind and maybe even enjoy the ride.
LA6 – Water Lilies
My wife was in charge of the flower beds and I commanded the veggie gardens. And never the twain shall meet. We each kept to our assigned domains. These water lilies were planted outside after Easter.
I had almost given up on the idea of Line Art and especially its Essence. It was just dragging me down, but like many of the challenges I have faced, I decided to fight back. I know that this is kinda crude, but I will get better. It just takes practice.
The jerkiness of the pen will disappear and my determination to find the “essence” from each photo I choose will improve.
I just won’t give up
MME99 – Quintessential Pitt
Even though the steel mills are gone, Pittsburgh will remain a gritty city that thinks it’s a small town. During my last visit there in 2017 we spent an hour just roaming through some of the neighborhoods. It is a fascinating place.
NY Harbor from WTC
This is perhaps the best serendipity picture I have taken in my 55 years as a photographer. The story is to the right. Our last visit to NYC was in 2017. The World Trade Center was gone, but its replacement also has a restaurant on its top floors.
I suspect it and Times Square will be a very busy places this evening.
A Joint Effort
This digital doodle was one created by me and a new friend. We used opposing yet complementary colors. I kinda title it “A Fish In The Forest“. I don’t know if you can see that or not.
Plain & Simple
I have been doing a lot of contemplation about my 2026 project here so I thought I would do something plain and simple for today’s artsy. If I had perfect recall maybe I could remember making something very similar in my early years. But I think my mind is full enough without remembering EVERY detail of my life. In fact perfect recall might be very excruciating.
Speaking of next years’ plans, my last serious thoughts were to make line art the theme for 2026, but I have convinced myself that is too much too soon. I need to go down this artsy path some more before tackling it as an “essence of life” art project
Next week I will give you details on my new projects for 2026. I think I will enjoy them very much and I certainly hope you do too.
Doodling Has Been Fun, But…
I started my abstract digital doodling nine months ago. It’s been fun but I think the time to focus on it is past. I want to take my artsy to a higher level. I think that higher level is “Line Art”.
My fascination with Line Art has been increasing for several years now. I love how some art in that genre can give you a passionate story in just a few drawn lines using minimal colors. Maybe this goes along with my “2thePoint” brevity of words over at RJsCorner.
I’m still working through the “beginner” stage of this new project. I have a few ideas on how to make it happen. But I suspect it will take at least a month before I am ready to show you some of my creations. Until then I will continue with my other projects but focus my search for the essence of artsy.
MME65 – Light At The End Of The Tunnel
This picture is what My Mind’s Eye sees from my many visits to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Lexington KY. When life becomes too much for me to handle I visit there to gain back some perspective.
Dreamy
I made this abstract digital doodle a few months ago. I think it’s time it saw the light of day.
Another Idea…
My Digital Doodle board is filling up so maybe it’s time to move on to focus on another project. I’m kinda thinking about doing some illustration-type artsy stuff similar to the above. Starting out, it will primarily be from the quotes database. You can never be TOO artsy.
Smiling Teeth
I know this title is a stretch to describe the doodle. But that’s just how my crazy mind works.
The Most Memorable
I took the original picture on which this one was based many years ago. It was taken in a museum in Des Moines Iowa. I love how form and function can merge so comfortably when it is done by the right person.
The Eternal Flame
My Catholic grade school roots came to mind as I was making this doodle. It reminded me of the candles I was supposed to light for reasons I don’t remember.
DD53 – Remembering Arizona And My uRV
I kinda think of this post as being the beginning stages of my line art project for 2026. But it uses an abundance of colors, so it is not in keeping with my anticipated style for line art. Maybe I will make a simpler version of it for the Line Art (LA) category.
The inspiration for this image was from a 2022 uRV trip. It was one of the final trips I took before retiring my 30-year-old camper.
I had a lot of fun building it and was sad to see it go. But, such is life.
Simplicity – Getting to the Essence of what you see.
I am learning everyday now just what simplicity is all about. For some reason I have been attracted to that word all my life. In fact I have numerous placards around my RetCom apartment as I write these words.
What presently brought this word to the surface of my mind is my decision to focus on line art as my artsy project for 2026. To me, getting to the essence of what I see is the ultimate challenge in my artsy world, but maybe the hardest part is then putting that essence in an artsy form. Accomplishing that is difficult, but once I learn it I believe I will truly understand what simplicity is all about.
Line art is the oldest form of art. It was discovered about 75,000 years ago in the form of images of life in cave-dwelling walls.
Since I am an “elder orphan”, I spent all of yesterday studying what line art is all about. Unfortunately, I have not been able to yet learn as much as I want. But, since
Never Stop Learning
is part of my life mantra, I will not give up this new project.
LA2 – 1st Serious Attempt
I’m not sure just when I did this line art drawing. I think it was in 2024. It took several hours to complete. After it was done I guess I let it fall through the cracks so to speak. Or maybe it was just lying in the embers in the back of my mind waiting to get resurrected.
Now its time has come. I have decided to make line art my official project for 2026. So you will see more coming soon. I am currently studying various artists to see what they can teach me concerning line art. Matisse and Picasso are at the top of the list right now. It is not in my nature to “copy” them but I maybe want to use some of their methods in creating my own style of line art. We will see.
DD83 – Out Of Focus
In my youth I can remember when everything was out of focus. Dad barely made enough to put food on the table and a roof over our head. Eyeglasses were simple a luxury that we just couldn’t afford. I usually chose one of the front desks in my grade school and high school years. All the other kids thought I was trying to be the teacher’s pet, but in reality I just wanted to be closer to the chalkboards. Finally in my junior year I made enough money at 90 cents/hour putting up hay in the summer to be able to afford a pair. I knew I would need them for college so that was a top priority for me.
This doodle, like so many others didn’t get a title until it was finished. But I kinda think it fits.
DD76 – A Rainbow Bath
This one is kinda like a self-portrait of my brain and how it works. The long blue line is a thought going down into water and then the rainbow of a dozen different thoughts splashes out from that. I like how that works. Never a boring moment in my brain. 🙃
MME51 – Greenfield Village Facade
If you have any interest in the history of the U.S., you must visit Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan. There are hundreds of buildings that Ford kidnapped from across the country depicting our early days including the original Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop.
For some reason I have chosen the original image that was used for the picture above as the essence of those times. It simply draws me in.
MME57 – NJ Diner
One of the best things I discovered in my four years living in New Jersey was diners. This was my favorite one. It was located in Freehold NJ. Except for the diner just down the road from our house, this one we visited the most.
DD81 – My Best To Date…
This is my most ambitious doodle to date so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it also brings up an ambitious story, or probably myth.
After I finished the doodle a story from my Bible investigation past came to mind. It was the story about how the mammoth curtain in the inner sanctum of the Jewish temple was torn from top to bottom immediately upon Jesus’ death. Other than the Gospel accounts that were finally published 400 years after Jesus’ death this story never became public except to maybe a limited few. There is no mention of this happening in any recorded Jewish or Roman text. Like the story about George Washington and the apple tree it is also likely a myth. But it did make a nice story.
DD69 – The Ultimate
This is one of those doodles that I started with a thought in mind. I kinda think the image give you an idea of what the future, but not too future, tennis shoe will look like. I guess they are called sneakers now. They used to also be called athletic shoes, but maybe sneakers is a more appropriate name as most of the people who put out hundreds of bucks for them now are likely playing their sports in front of a game console screen.
DD16 – Too Little, Too Late?
This one came directly from the far reaches of my brain. I have no idea on interpreting it. Yes, it is kinda artsy, but I don’t think it is too little too late at all. Maybe some day my brain will explain it to me.
DD63 – Question Everything
Since “Question Everything” is part of my trilogy of life, of course it would come up here at digital doodles. If people actually looked like the things they believe, this one could be a self-portrait with blue wings for flying in the clouds and of course a question mark for my head.😎
DD50 – By Any Other Name
I thought I would try a simple version of a sophisticated doodle. How it ended up is pretty much how it started. The thought was that while I was courting my wife 40 years ago I weekly gave her roses that numbered the same as the weeks before our marriage. Of course the one that stuck in my mind was the last single rose a week before our wedding. This doodle doesn’t actually look like that rose, but it is the thought that counts.
DD54 – A Bright Idea
This is my first attempt at Doodle-Abstracts. The difference between simple doodles and abstract doodles is that simple doodles start with nothing in mind, and abstract doodles start with a particular thought.
You could say this image is also a self-portrait showing that I am constantly surrounded by bright ideas, especially when I am in my morning shower.
I kinda like how it turned out.
DD71 – HodgePodge 1
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
This doodle was simply an experiment in using some of the icons available from one of my doodling tools i.e. it is just a hodgepodge. But it was fun to see some of its capabilities for future sophisticated doodles.
LA3 – A Little Line Art, A Little Watercolor
My definition of a doodle is extremely broad it seems. With that in mind I give you some line art and watercolor for today’s doodle. The inspiration was taken from a hillside view from my third visit to Mount Vernon, which was the homestead of our first president. If you don’t know who that was google it to have a history lesson you missed out on.
DD58 – StarLight, StarBright
I kinda think that if there is a heaven for artists and doodlers this is probably what the stars would look like.
After decades of study on the subject, I have come to the conclusion that, for the most part, our religious documents are made up of what people dream heaven will be like. So, why can’t I dream that it will be like peoples’ greatest passions? This one is for artists, and for the ones whose primary passion is hate, it will be called HELL.
DD60 – Prayer Plant Friends
Over at RJsCorner I recently posted “Staying Emotionally Strong In Your Later Years”. One item on that list was To Tend To Something Living. To that end I have a menagerie of plants in front of my RetCom patio door. They are my friends who depend on me to take care of them.
DD57 – Life Paths
This doodle was one I created around a specific thought and that is “My Roads of Life”. I have had many joys and challenges in the crooked path my life has taken. There is no reason to believe that the remaining years will be different.
(This is one of my favorite doodles to date)
DD6 – Chaos
Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”
-Erich Fromm–
__________________________
Letting go of certainties are certainly disruptive and Chaos often follows. In some ways that is a good thing. It forces us to face the reality that we might have been wrong about things we thought were true and certain.
That is especially true for the current times.
DD30 – Hectic Minds
“Doodling is the language of the soul.”
-Anonymous _
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I thought this would be a good doodle to start off my “Doodle And A Quote” project. I don’t know about the soul since that word has so many definitions, but it is the language of my heart.
DD56 – Round N Round We Go
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
When I started this digital doodle I had no idea that it would end up as this jolly fellow. He helps make this day a happy one.
DD19 – Love Birds Embracing
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
I think I am getting better at this stuff. The composition and colors of this artsy piece seems just right. I don’t know if you can stretch your imagination enough to see the two lovebirds embracing in their orange nest, but that is what my twisted mind sees.
DD14 – A Jetson Universe
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
Being a techie nerd I now totally do TV streaming. With that in mind I often pick the best TV shows from the last half of the 20th century. They were simply better in the “good old days”.
DD9 – KY Bike Racks
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
The photo that inspired this doodle was of a unique bike rack I discovered in Louisville, Kentucky in 2010. Since our homestead was only a couple of hours away we made several long weekend trips to Louisville over the years. They have quite a few small museums there. I kinda like those types of museums better than those with Renoirs and millionaires’ names above the gallery doors.
DD12 – Birds Aflight
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
At first I thought this one was about all the plastic in the ocean. But since it is hurricane season the 100 mph winds came to mind. So, it became “Birds Aflight”.
DD1 – Baby Steps
_______________Stories, Quotes & Lessons of Life________________
How do I explain my fascination with doodling?
What about it makes it so enticing to me?
My doodling started out as an innocent attempt to fill some time, and now it is a full-blown passion that I have given its own blog space. I will have to think about the questions above for a while to try to discern those answers.
This doodle is one of the first doodles I made after I settled on a couple of apps that I would use to create them.
More on all this soon.
