dolphins belong in the ocean, you fucking morons

Sometimes, I feel like we're all gonna be ok.

And then i see something stupid,

like a flock of people on a beach

passing around a dying dolphin

so they could all get a selfie

and I think to myself:

"we've all gone fucking mad".

Sometimes, I think we're no less intelligent

than people were centuries ago

and then I watch TLC for 10 minutes

or I see the Kardashians

or i hear Donald Trump

and I realize

that we are indeed, less intelligent

and that many of us

confuse money with intelligence

and have lost the ability

to think for ourselves.

I see people standing on soapboxes,

with loud voices

and stiff suits

and too many other people

who are ready to follow,

like little ducklings who have lost their way.

There are too many stupid,

loud people on this planet

and not enough quiet ones

who speak their mind.

We've lost the ability

to put ourselves in other peoples' shoes.

We harm animals.

We hurt ourselves.

We care very little,

as long as our actions work for us

and propel us forward,

without any thought to how it may affect OTHERS.

We know there are differences between us,
and it's hard to make sense of them sometimes.

The selfies with dying dolphins.
The mistreatment of any animal.
The cutting of a forest for yet another mall.
The religious fanatics killing for their god.
The lack of compassion for life.

I used to think of myself
in my own little corner of the world.
Nothing anyone else did anywhere else bothered me.
Because they were there
and I was here.
I don't see it that way anymore.

We're all in this together.
I don't understand
why it's so hard for some people
just not to hurt one another.

I may not be loving to everyone all the time,

but at least I make the choice

not to HURT anyone or anything.

What's so hard about leaving a baby dolphin

in the fucking ocean,

where it belongs?

abstract art, Matisse and Ron Sexsmith!

Hello everyone!

Here we are, mid February already!

It's been deep freeze cold here the past days (-25C)

but still such a better winter than last.

We still have snow on the ground,

but at least it's not 6 feet (like last year!)

Here's a little bit of what i've been busy with lately...

 acrylic on paper

then added some chinese marker.

It's abstract - obviously ;) and

as I do with most of my paintings,

when i feel like it's done,

i flip it around to see if it "looks" like anything.

Some might say that defeats the purpose

of an abstract,

but it makes sense to me, so i do it,

cause i'm the boss of me. :)

It looked much better to me this way.
I don't necessarily 'see' anything
(although it 'feels' like a city street)
but i like it better this way.
It just feels more balanced somehow.

And remember this?
Yeah, i added dots. :)

Kind of inspired by Matisse.

when i did this one (above),
i was thinking about the state of the world
and how often I do feel like it's crazy in so many ways
But then, history teaches us
that it's always been this way.
There have always been wars.
There have always been people who do
terrible things to one another.
There has always been racism
and hatred
and mental illness
and disease and illness
and misplaced power.
But there has also always been love.
And ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
And beauty.
And moments of grace.

There are 7.4 people on this planet.

It's crazy to expect that they're all gonna be good.

I bought my son this book
for his birthday last week.
So many stories in here remind me
that we don't all get the same chance in life.
It's far too easy to judge or criticize someone
without knowing anything about them.
Everyone is going through SOMETHING in life.

 This man's story broke my fucking heart...

And to end things on a lighter note -
my son and I went to a concert last week!
We saw Ron Sexsmith
at the beautiful Capitol Theatre,
here in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The theatre is about 100 years old,
sits about 800 people 
and the sound is always so good.

Ron Sexsmith is a Canadian singer/songwriter

and I believe he's one of the greatest songwriters 

of this generation.

Yes, I do. :)

i love so many of his songs, but here's just one:

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Thanks for being here.

xx

i wanna be an artist when i grow up

If you have attempted to fit whatever mold
and failed to do so, you are probably lucky.
You may be an exile of some sort,
but you have sheltered your soul.
- Dr. Estes

I heard a comment from someone the other day
that reminded me that there are still far too many people
who see the artist as a fuzzy kind of
they still don't know what they wanna do
with their lives and they're too lazy
to do anything else
kind of profession.
Many years ago, the father of a friend
asked me what i did for a living.
When i replied that I was an artist,
his response was, with the flip of a hand:
"oh, well then you must be poor."
and he walked away.
And he said it with a straight, serious face.
He was far too important
to waste his time with an artist.
He was a business man with money.
I was just an artist.
(today, I'd tell him to fuck off.
But back then, I was less confident)

I went away feeling torn
with the thoughts in my head
flying around like annoying mosquitos.

Maybe he's right.
I'll never have money.
Maybe i should do something else.
This is too hard.
I should pick something more stable.

Thankfully, I stayed on my path.
I surrounded myself
with people who encouraged me,
and kept voices like his
as far away from me as possible.
No it wasn't always easy,
no, I didn't make a lot of money,
but like most things that aren't easy,
life in the arts is so worth it.
(especially when that's who you are!)
It took me years to develop
the confidence i needed
to be able to stand in my own light
and to be proud to say:
I.
AM.
AN.
ARTIST.

Without justification.
Without shame.
Without feeling any less

intelligent

or ambitious

or educated

or capable

or important than anyone else.
It took me years
to understand
what my work was worth.

Not in terms of money,
but in terms of meaning,
for me and others,
and ultimately,
the world.

Yes. The world.
That's how big I see things now
because i believe in the ripple effect.
I believe that if ONE person is inspired
by someone or something,
if ONE person sees something
that makes them happy,
then they in turn will inspire others.
At the very least, they will be happier themselves
for a moment in time,
and if they are happier for a moment,
chances are, they will spread their joy
and make someone else happy too.

I'm not convinced that money can do this.
(there are a lot of lonely rich people in the world).

I did this quick painting outline
a few nights ago,
and as soon as i did the 3 "plants",
i decided to scrap it
(by putting a black line through it!)

Once the black line was there,
I looked at it and decided
to add more black lines through it...
connecting the lines here and there

 At this point, it made sense to add some color...

 and a few more colors...

and more still.
The lighting is bad here,
but as you can see -
i think it's been revived!

I'm not sure i'm done with it..

i'll post an update if i do anything else to it.

And this quick sketch of me & my thoughts...

i made myself prettier.

And thinner ;)

If you know someone
who wants to be an artist
or an actor
or a writer
or a dancer
or a poet
or a musician...
especially if they're young & just starting out,
ENCOURAGE THEM
to stay with it!
Society doesn't make it easy for them.
The world doesn't make it easy for them.
Tell them to keep going.
Tell them it takes a lot of guts 
to do what they're doing.
Tell them they'll need to get comfortable
with uncertainty.
With not always being rewarded financially.
With questions and assumptions
and judgement from others.
But tell them to KEEP GOING ANYWAY.
The world needs them now
more than ever.
xx