My Artsy Side – An Image & A Story
Having Art In My Heart
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I don’t know why I gave this one the title that I did. I guess it is because of all the lines intersecting each other. It just looks wild to me. Or maybe it was just the mood I was in at the time.
“My Mind’s Eye” is primarily made up of two distinct things. They are pictures of things we see in daily life but don’t draw our attention. The second category is pictures that were taken and then modified is various ways. Sometimes it is one or the other, and others it is a combination of both.
The picture above is of the 2nd category. It was a majestic picture of the Rocky Mountains that has been changed to show it in a more artistic fashion. I kinda like the effects.
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This one is what I call an “Illustrated Doodle” in that it was made from an app that is specialized for that form of art. For those nerds among you it is vector, not raster, generated. You will soon be learning that my definition of doodles might not align with some. I am used to drawing outside the lines, so that is nothing new to me.
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.
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Just Doodling On The Margins of Life today. The inspiration for this doodle was some Chicago streetlights.
Of course, this was more than a spur-of-the-moment type doodle. But, it was fun making something more challenging.
I have always wondered where the term “Sour Grapes” came from. To me it means putting things down because you can’t attain them. Here is what Wiki says:
The term originates from an Aesop’s Fable —The story concerns a fox that tries to eat grapes from a vine but cannot reach them. Rather than admit defeat, he states they are undesirable.
Some people think that life goes in a straight line from birth to death, but I kinda think it is much more complicated than that. It is made up of twists, turns, and tangents of various flavors. That is what makes life so interesting. Here I am in my 80th year and I still don’t really know what lies ahead. That is exciting and scary for me at the same time.
I will admit here that my avatar here at RJsCorner is about 26 years old. It was taken in 2000 on my wife’s sixtieth birthday. When I recently sent it through one of my “MyMindsEye” apps it made the shoreline I was watching more recognizable. I like that.
I didn’t know when I started this doodle that it would end up as it has. In the back of my mind, I was beginning to feel kinda silly so I shouldn’t be surprised by the results.
“We forge the chains we wear in life.”
-Charles Dickens – (1812 – 1870)
It is very common for all of us to blame others for our life trials. I thank Charles Dickens for reminding us that many of our troubles in life are actually self-inflicted.
The image from which this enhanced picture was taken was in a rural California community on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. It reminded me of the fact that most fires in rural areas result in total loss due to the delayed response of all volunteers fire departments. Most often, by the time the fire fighters get there the building is fully engaged.
But that did take away from the beauty of the area but only for a few hours.
In my early years I thought I would become an astronomer, but when I found out that they don’t make much money, I decided to look elsewhere. But I did spend a couple of years reading about the heavens.
I knew the stars were just burning bodies, similar to our sun, but in my imagination I kinda saw them as mysterious as the above.
The origin of this image was taken in 2007 when I was visiting the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I was overwhelmed by the surroundings. Yes, I did taste the water and it was VERY salty.
While living in New Jersey in 1998, we took a trip through the Fingerlakes region of New York. This picture was taken at the Glenora Winery. It was just opening and was a fabulous place. I will always love this enhanced photo and my trip there.
I am in a reminiscing mood today, especially about all the critters I have had in my life. When we lived in the homestead surrounded by forests for 21 years, there were countless critters who constantly showed up at our backdoor. Before I go any more forward I need to tell you a little story.
I think if she had to decide between me and one of her critters, it would likely have been me who was shown the door. She regularly fed possums, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs. No body was left hungry, even as uninvited guests.
Let’s get back to this image above. Sophie, like many others before and after her suddenly showed up. She was not feral, but she was quite young. I left all the “critter” business up to my wife, so I don’t really know how she housebroke Sophie. But there were times when Sophie made an Oops as we called it, and it was my job to clean it up. This was one of those times.
Of course, being a female cat, she had to jump on my back to make sure I was doing a good job cleaning up her “Oops”. I have been without a critter for 4+ years now in my RetCom home. Sometimes I think I miss them more than I do my wife. 😁🥴😆.
I know for a lot of people, the Fall season is the most beautiful season of the year. But, as usual, I generally see it as a time when things are dying, or maybe I just see Winter with all the ice hazards just around the corner. Yeah, the very brief Fall colors are nice, but they quickly disappear.
I first thought I saw the doodle above as a bird, but then I quickly saw it as possibly a self-portrait of me wrapped up in an inescapable cocoon of many fabrics.
I look at these types of moods as reminding me that without some dark periods we would not enjoy the good ones as much.
Being deaf for 35 years now, I usually don’t pay much attention to musical presentations here at my RetCom (retirement community). But this last April there was one that I attended.
It was an African Drums Presentation.
Drums are one thing that I sorta can “hear” by vibrations on my chest. I also definitely enjoyed the colorful outfits too.
I try to fill everyday with challenges that make me think, but sometimes that is not enough and boredom takes over. In that regard, I am finding that doodles fit my current LOMO (Life On My Own) lifestyle very well. If I start feeling bored, all I have to do is to load up my doodle app and almost immediately the boredom disappears.
Doodling is my Boredom Buster
Starting with a blank page and just letting my subconscious fill it is an enjoyable event. What comes out is often surprising even to me. When I am done I look at what I have created and try to give it a name. The doodle #45 above is entitled “Everything Bagel”
Recently, I have needed an escape from my routine. It is there that I generated this digital doodle. I know I am in my RetCom apartment probably 98% of the week. That’s fine most of the time. LOMO (life On My Own) is where I generally want to be. But…
Maybe you could call this period of needing to escape pre-cabin fever, or perhaps because I recently gave up my car, it is a “No Car Dilemma”. Either is a possibility.
In the past, especially the last four years,I have always had the capability of just taking off whenever I wanted. I’m a little down because of all of this, but I’m sure it is a passing thing.
I think this doodle is kinda between Simple and Sophisticated. At least I’m working on it.
In the last 15 years I have probably been to at least 40 museums. Some were locals that were usually in a once abandoned building. Others were the million dollar version, where each room proudly displayed the name of a major benefactor. I will let you in on a little secret, all of those in the latter category above were pretty much the same.
The ones I found to be the most creative were the ones sponsored by the city or college in which it resided. None of those that I visited had a Renoir or a Picasso collection that I know of, but they did highlight the regional artists.
I think I am right, but I could be wrong that the image above is from the Ft.Wayne Museum in Indiana. To me, the way that art is presented is as critical as the art itself.
I am not a sports nut by ANY means, but there sure is a lot of news about Caitlin Clark in my part of the country right now. I do applaud her efforts to civilize women’s basketball. So here’s my doodle to you, Caitlin, entitled “Nothing but Net.”
This is my first attempt at Doodle-Abstracts. You could say it is also a self-portrait showing that I am constantly surrounded by bright ideas, especially when I am in my morning shower.
I went deaf before closed captions were available, so when I watched TV, I used to make up my own story of what I was watching. Of course I was always wrong. In that vein, I will let you make up your own story for this one, but you will never be wrong on this one.
Ok, maybe this doodle is not really Paradise Gained, but given the red coconuts, it is certainly unique.
While I am in the mood of “rule breaker” I thought I would give you another Wright brother’s “Line Art” RJ’s version. I think most people who even care just a little about history know that the Wright brothers had a bicycle shop before they got interested in flight. As a matter of fact, they had several businesses before that.
This image was inspired by a photo I took in Dayton.
I haven’t given up on doing a more pure version of line art, but I have to get my first attempts out there before I finally attempt to do that.
For those of you who know “line art” you will certainly tell me this is not that. Yes, I admit that I broke many rules in making the image above. But who am I if not a “rules breaker”? I did this piece a few months ago and have been reluctant to show it to you. But I finally decided
What The Heck
This image originated from a photo I took a while back at the Wright Brothers National Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
I am having trouble staying in the box that is defined as Line Art. The idea appeals to me, but putting it into practice is another thing. This image started out in the traditional Line Art mode, but quickly demanded colors to make any sense. I have not given up on the pure sense of line art. Maybe I just need to find the right inspiration source.
This one came from a photo of a young woman taking pictures in “Old Quebec” in 2011. I loved her tattoo. I’m sure it means something, but I don’t know what that is.
This is my rendition of what allergies are today. It just seems like many more kids today have serious allergies than they did in my youth. Tongue-in-cheek, I kinda speculate that is because kids now live in a much more sterile environment than I did as a kid..
When I was a kid, we played in the dirt several hours a week and for the most part, if you could afford it, our homes were carpeted.
I can also remember that we didn’t shy away when measles and such happened in our schools. The logic back then was if you got them in normal childhood years, they didn’t give you as much trouble as when you got them as an adult. I know that is kinda convoluted logic, but…
Peanut butter allergies? I never heard of that until I was an adult. But then again, I never heard about autism back then and now they say 4 out of 100 kids have it.
Sometimes nothing particular comes to the surface during my Doodle Artsy creation.
As I progress, I am beginning to see some pattern to my artsy doodles. For the most part, they are usually very busy. I guess that is not surprising in that my mind is always in the mode. I need to figure out how to put my mind at rest so that I can concentrate on something simpler.
This is one of my top ten artsy pictures from photos. I know the movie The Bridges of Madison County is considered on of the top movies of its time, but in my mind bridges of Parke County, Indiana, certainly top the ones in that movie.
I have taken numerous pictures of this bridge and several others in the area, so expect more in the coming months.
“Everything you can imagine is real“
–Picasso —
As MyArtsySide is beginning to show that I have quite of an imagination, and you ain’t seen nothing yet.😎 I’ve only just begun…
No, the title of this post is not about me as a person. My shell is always so full it is constantly overflowing. Instead, I am talking about the image above, which is another beginning attempt at line art. I know I am not supposed to add color to line art, but something inside me just insisted I add some to this one. I don’t see any reason to obey rules that don’t make any sense to me, so making changes like this just comes naturally.
The inspiration for the image was a photo I took in a small gulf shore town in Louisiana in the Spring of 2022. During that 6,000 mile trip I was determined to partake of local oysters along the way. I always lived by the rule to only eat oysters when I am within 100 miles of a coast line. Otherwise the freshness, which is critical to a flavorful oyster, is in question. I have to say here that Gulf Coast oysters are good but just not just as flavorful as the Chesapeake Bay version.
During this trip, I did learn something about myself that I hadn’t learned before, and that is
Too many oysters too close together is not a good thing.
Here are a few pictures from that day.
I was in a cheerful but still on the dark side when I created this image. Everything is moving along in rhythm, but a congested rhythm. My masks that I used to wear to get along with the crowd are falling away now, and that makes me happy.
I give you my first serious attempt at Line Art. I have struggled for the last couple of months with how to approach this new artsy project. But, in a recent Sunday morning shower, it all came to me in a flash. For some reason many of my epiphanies occur during Sunday morning showers. I don’t know why, but I am certainly grateful for that fact.
I look forward to giving you regular doses of Line Art in the coming year. I hope you are up to it. 😎
I Think I am
I think I am actually starting to to develop a doodle style and technique. After playing with my digital app I have discovered just the right pens and fill styles that finally appeal to me.
I guess I have to label this one “abstract”, but if you look closely you can see it.
I will let the picture say it all….
This JustArtsy post just leaped out of my mind the other day. I didn’t even intend to make it. But when it was done, I realized that it encapsulates what I was feeling at the moment. So, you could say it was a self-portrait.
When I was looking for ideas for Outsider Art a while back I came across some of my photos of Alcatraz I took in 2009. At first glance I saw an Alcatraz sandwich. My version of it looks tasty!
