>"Pandora" Digital Energy Art by Primal Painter

>

“Pandora” by Primal Painter

I love the colors in this digital warpization of my wall sculpture “Expansion“.  It makes me think of the plant life on planet Pandora in the movie “Avatar”.  I’m mesmerized by the colors in that movie, not to mention the story line.  To me, the visuals make that movie, but I love the “good versus evil” aspect as well.  “Avatar” has that  plus a little romance. 

Ironically, the depiction of evil in “Avatar” is Corporate America (a reflection of the current state of America and maybe the world, in my opinion).  In this movie, Planet Earth is on the verge of extinction due to our own reckless stupidity, greed, and abuse of the environment.  They (notice I said “they” as I identify more with the Na’vi than the Americans) need a precious mineral that can only be found deep in the ground under the native Na’vi’s Home Tree. 

The Na’vi are peaceful beings that live completely in harmony with nature, and have energetic connections with the plant and animal life.  The evil corporation tries to annihilate them to get what they want, but the Na’vi  and even the wild creatures rise up against them.  This movie is symbolic in many ways and also gives an insight into how cultures might live in peace and harmony through a reverence for nature and acknowledgement of the energetic connections we could have with each other.

Gee, I think I want to watch that movie again today! It always seems to leave me feeling inspired, plus it gives me goosebumps and makes me all teary eyed when I see the Na’vi gathering in concentric circles with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them in order to magnify the energetic connection. I want to be like them. 

In other news, my daughter Andi had a little surprise for me today.  She sent me a link to a youtube video and told me to check it out.  This is what I saw…

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM3p95Ck2AY

 

I couldn’t believe it!  How in the world did she know how to do that!  She never ceases to amaze me with her support and faith in me.  If only I had that much faith in myself I’d be a star, but I’m working on it.  Thank you Andi! I love you!

Well I hope everyone has an awesome day! 

Later,

Laurie

Advertisement

>Digital Energy Art "The Angel" by primalpainter

>

“The Angel” by primalpainter

I was in an Angel mood yesterday and created this beautiful energy art from a photo of one of my older wall sculptures called “Forest Angels”. I have the same image in several different color combos, but this one is my fave.

The wall sculpture I used for inspiration is actually quite different from the ones I have listed on Etsy and Artfire right now.  I painted the glass in a transparent way and put a bulb behind it so it’s actually a light. There are hidden images of angels all over it.  I did several styles of these wall sculpture lights, not quite sure why I stopped doing them because they’re really pretty cool and unique.  My daughter has this hanging in her apartment.

See any angels?

So  I was thinking, (oh no, not that) there seems to be a big connection between my moods, energy level and the weather.  I seem to have a strong desire to hibernate if the temperature gets below 55 degrees. Is that ridiculous or what?! 55 degrees!! 

I think it must be one of those excuses that I pull out of my bottomless pit called “Stupid Excuses and Ridiculous Reasons for Procrastination“.  It’s always been a little tricky to be self-employed, there’s just so many things to get distracted by….. like naps….soap operas…flowers….books….daydreaming.  If it’s gloomy outside, Good Gawd, can’t work in the studio today, I might get some gloom on me or sumthin’.  What the…?!  That’s so ridiculous!

I really have to change my ways, like maybe get on a schedule of some kind.  (A schedule? Really? Me? LOLOL)   Seriously, though, I need to work on my self-discipline which is something I’ve been telling myself for the past oh, 30 years or so but to no avail.  Maybe it’s time to grow up………

On that note, let’s watch a little video: 

That could be me telling myself  “You’re 50 years old, grow up, get some self discipline, and get on a schedule, darn you!”  I respond with “Talk to the hand, bee-otch, I can kick your butt with my kung fu feet!”. But in the end, it’s all just  “DA da da…da DA da…. da da DA”.

Haha, I could do a whole post on the imaginary conversation between these two

Well it’s gloomy, cold and rainy so I’d better curl up with a good book……Good Gawd, I’m hopeless!!!

Later,

Laurie

>Digital Energy Art "Playful"

>

“Playful” by primalpainter

This is a close-up photo of my wall sculpture “Renewal” that I manipulated into abstract digital energy art.  It reminds me of those spinny things on sticks that we used to play with when we were kids. What are those things called?  I know it’s not “spinny things” but …..Oh yeah, pinwheels!  (Had to ask my boyfriend because his brain isn’t as whore-moan addled as mine apparently is….I tell myself it’s whore-moans, not age, so let me have my illusion!)

I’ve been procrastinating putting these prints up for sale on my Etsy and Artfire sites.  My excuse is that I’ve been researching keywords for the titles and trying to define what these images actually are, but of course, that’s just my excuse of the day.  Are they Fine Art? Digital Art? Abstract Art? Energy Art?

I don’t know if other people research their keywords, but I read somewhere that keywords are really important for your SEO (search engine optimization).  I use the google adwords tool to research various search terms in order to see how many people actually use those words in a google search. 

I’ve found what appears to be some awesome keywords, for example digital  art gets 165,000 searches a month which sounds great.  But when you google digital art there’s almost 55 million results, which means my listing would be on page what? 40 million?  Geeze, somehow I don’t think people are going to go past page three or maybe five, let alone page 40 million!  Soooo……..don’t know, don’t know……   Even Energy Art which would be very specialized, niche oriented and gets 5,400 searches every month has the whopping 23 million results. What the…..?! Really? 

The ideal scenario is fairly high search numbers, say 9,000 searches per month, and less than 100,000 results.  A person might actually have a chance of getting on the first couple of pages with those odds assuming they maximize their keywords in the right places in their listing.

Oh blah, blah, blah….  I hate all this mumbo jumbo technical crapola of selling on the internet.  How about a different version of “Playful” to recapture my wandering mind.

“Playful Daydream”

I actually think I like this one better than the first one.  Good Gawd, what’s happening to me?! Since when do I like something that doesn’t require sunglasses to protect my eyes from it’s loud, in your face colors?

How about this one…….

“Playful Romance”

Hmmm, interesting….I like the colors……and I used to be way into diagonals but now?  Not so sure anymore….Wow, I really am changing…maybe just for the time being, we’ll see…..  That’s the thing about this digital energy art, it seems to reflect my energy flow of the moment.

Well, I’m off to nurse this brutal migraine I’ve had for a couple of days.  First, let’s try a little humor medicine, see if that works on migraines:

LOLOLOL, why WHY do I find that so hilarious?  Poor kid…..poor, silly, freakin’ hilarious stupid kid.  I’m starting to think I’m a little twisted in the humor department……

And, it didn’t help the migraine physically but a good laugh is always good mentally, even if it’s for the twisted reasons of “habenero induced silly boy agony”.  Bad girl, Laurie, BAD!!

Later,

Laurie

>Vibes of Spring

>

“Growth” by primalpainter

This is a shot I took yesterday of a blossom on my almond tree.  I was going to leave it “normal”, but I just can’t seem to resist twisting and warping and spiraling it into abstract energy art.  It’s pretty cool, I guess, but I still like the more psychedelic abstract images with wild colors better.  It’s starting to become clear to me that not everyone shares my taste in wild, loud visuals..lol  Anyway, this is the best I can do at keeping it conservative at this point.

I’ve been into bold wild colors since junior high at least.  When I was younger than that, I had posters of horses on my walls (we had 12 horses), then I discovered the wonderful world of blacklight posters, blacklights, and other trippy special effect lighting.  Now keep in mind, this was way before I even knew what the word trippy actually implied, so apparently my visual tastes are just my natural state.

“Gentle Touch of Angels”

This one is a shot of a pear tree blossom.  It’s kind of pretty, soft and romantic.  I wonder if my taste will evolve into something more…mature?  Maybe, but I doubt it knowing me, although I might do some softer versions of abstract art just to experiment.

I was reading a blog yesterday where a website guru was analyzing someone’s site, and he said that the only thing this person’s site would do for him if he were to buy one of their products was to give him some exercise as he carried it to the trash.  I thought that was harsh.  His closing advice was that people need to create products that the public wants, not create products that you like to create.

I can see the wisdom in that for a commercially run business, but what about artists?  It would seem to me that as an artist, it would be important to stay true to yourself and create what appeals to your own visual and emotional taste.  If you don’t do that, then wouldn’t that be selling out? 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly done that in the past, and while it was more profitable to design for the public, ultimately it’s not fulfilling and even feels fake.  As an artist, I think it’s really important to stay true to yourself and find the niche of buyers that have the same kind of taste.  Although, finding those people that have the same taste as me might be like finding a needle in a haystack…I dunno….lol

Well I’m off to enjoy another nice day!  This is my favorite time of year…..watching the flowers grow and bloom, hearing the birds chirping and the frogs chirping….  watching the trees green up…..love it!

Later,

Laurie

>"Healing Energy" for Japan

>

“Healing Energy” by Primalpainter

“Healing Energy” is digital energy art created from my wall sculpture entitled “Clearing the Chaos“.   I created it today in response to feeling helpless.  I held my intention steady on sending healing energy to all those affected by this terrible disaster during the entire creative process.  I don’t know that it will help, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

I need a break from the news, it’s really starting to affect my energy level and mood.  My boyfriend has been watching the news nonstop, and I’m about ready to throw the tv (and maybe him) off the balcony.  I wouldn’t do that, though, I like my Wednesday night shows, and he’s the cook in the family, can’t toss the cook off the balcony.

Desperate for a break from the whole end of the world, worst case scenario mentality, I found a couple of videos to lift the vibe a little.

Is it wrong that I find that hilarious?  Heheeeeheeeeeeeeeee!  I bet that lady’s pissed that her son put that video on you tube.

How about another one……

That looks like fun…….It makes me imagine hopping around in a tuxedo at a serious cocktail party. lol

One more short one

lol

Ok, I feel a little better, have a great day!

Laurie

>Third Chakra Rising

>

“Metamorphosis” by primalpainter 

Yesterday I was feeling kind of rebellious and my post was a little on the….shall we say…..unprofessional side.  I’ve never been known for having great timing, and of course I would have to choose the same day that Etsy artist  Sybillinart featured my third chakra painting “Fearless” on her blog which sent some people my way, and what do they see?  A monkey sticking a finger in his butt, smelling it and falling over backwards from the horrifying stench. (Good Gawd, my timing is horrible, still, though, that video is so hilarious…..heheeeee!)

Anyway, I’m sorry Sybillinart for that unfortunate timing and I’ll make up for it today.

Sybillinart is a decoupage artist on Etsy. She has something for everyone in her shop from pendants to boxes, cards to wall decor, vases, journals, you name it.  She really made my day when she included my third chakra painting “Fearless” in an Etsy treasury within hours of me listing it on Etsy.  Then she bought it which sent me into a wild spree of happiness, confirming to me that working on my chakra paintings is the right thing to do.  Thank you for that Sybillinart!

I’m really honored that she did an Artist Feature about this painting on her blog Sybillin’ Art News.  Go to her blog and check it out!  http://sybillinartnews.blogspot.com/2011/03/artist-feature.html    She even has a photo of it hanging on her wall right above her desk, which I thought was super cool.

For those who might be interested in the behind-the-scenes story concerning this painting, I did a couple of blog posts about it awhile back.  The first post is called “Third Chakra Issues” and chronicles the intention behind the painting and the emotional debris that emerged as I was working on it.

The second post is called “Fearless: Third Chakra” and shows the progression and visual evolution that took place from the first and second chakra paintings to the third and my thoughts on the process.

Thank you Sybillinart for including my painting “Fearless” in your world, I know it’s found the perfect home!

In other news, I got my prints from http://www.adoramapix.com/  yesterday, and they were awesome!  I had them printed on this metallic paper that has some kind of subtle  pearlized metallic glow to it.  The colors are deep and rich, they’re really beautiful.   They’re small, though, 8″ x 10″, and I’m thinking I’d like some bigger ones, say 16″ x 20″. Maybe I should figure out what I’m going to do with them first….

I made and airbrushed a wooden frame for my first energy art creation that I  printed on my own printer and gave it to Andi for her 21st birthday.  She’s my biggest fan, so I thought it would be appropriate to give her the first of something new that I’m starting.  I called it “The Beginning” and unbelievably forgot to get pictures of it. It turned out good and looks really nice hanging on a wall, though. 

Here’s a picture of it without the frame, (the frame or maybe more appropriately the wood mat was 3″ wide on all sides, 1/4″ thick and painted with a gradation of turquoise and aqua to deep blue).



”The Beginning”

Well this is one gorgeous day, gotta get out there an enjoy it!   By the way, maybe we could all send some white light, prayers, healing thoughts and good energy to all those affected by this terrible tragedy in Japan.

Later,

Laurie

>Thursday’s Random Ramble

>

This is a warped out digital abstraction taken from a photo of my orange second chakra painting.   I’ve decided I like it after a period of Yes? No? Yes? No? Ok ….yes. Sometimes I’ll look at something I’ve created. and I’ll like it for a minute, or maybe even for a few hours but then it’s like my brain twists around, my eyes flip out and I’ll start to hate it.  The creative mind is a strange one.   Below is a slightly different darker version.   I like it too, in some ways, even better than the one above.

What really sucks is when I like something I’ve made and declared “I’m finished!  Me likey”,  then days or even weeks later, I look at it and say “Ewwwwwwww, I…… hate it!!!!!”.  This is usually accompanied by my usual eye rolling, groaning, throwing my hands in the air, spinning around with copious amounts of hair tossing and acting generally overly dramatic.

Eventually I’ll resign myself to the fact that what’s done is done.   From that point on, though, I’ll cast the occasional sideways glance at the offending piece (never a full frontal gaze ever again) with a look on my face that probably looked like the face I made yesterday when the bartender accidentally gave me a drink with grapefruit juice in it.  (Eeee-yuck…that’s some sour sh#t,  grrr-ossss.).

 I survived my hour at the bar with Andi, by the way.  She ordered for both of us like some kind of pro…..(what the…..?)   It wasn’t too horribly painful,  however, one drink and I promptly forgot my coat at the bar and almost forgot my purse at her friend’s house.   Me no likey the alkee-hol….. I’m spacey enough as it is.

She was in a hurry to get back to Fayetteville so she could meet her friends for dinner, but I forced her to stay and have some cake.  I could have sworn we had candles but the only one I could find was a #7 candle which I found in the bottomless pit we call the junk drawer. I think it was from when she was 7 year old which would make it…what….14 years old? It looked like maybe a mouse had chewed part of the bottom off of it, but I pretended not to see that.   I brushed it off a little, stuck it in her cake deep enough to hide the chewed off end,  told her to make a wish and blow it out.

I wonder if she wished for a normal mother?  lol

Have a good one!

Laurie

>My Freak Out Moment Over Andi’s 21st Birthday

>

 

Today is my daughter Andi’s 21st birthday.  Good……….GAWD!!!!!!!!!  Am I freaking out?  YEESSSS!!!!  She’s an adult now, I tell myself, but dangit, that doesn’t mean that I have to treat her like an adult (said with great defiance).  Or does it…. (said with a moan superimposed with a whine). Craaaapp.

I suppose I’ll have to face the music when we go out this afternoon and I buy her a drink…..in a bar…….and watch her drink it…….  (Oh, I  had a stomach heaving moment there.)  As I stare into space with a daydreamy look on my face,  I think “Maybe it would help if I drank a few shots of whatever liquor they serve these days to dull this disturbing moment.”  As the fantasy proceeds, I see myself being carried home in a drunken stupor mumbling  “My daugher’s 21 and I’m old,  my daughter’s 21 and I’m old…..”

At least it isn’t as bad as when I dropped her off at college a couple of years ago. That little incident was freakin’ traumatic, TRAUMATIC I tell ya.   I acted out quite a bit after she moved away but thankfully nobody was killed, injured or emotionally crippled during my empty nest  period of psychosis.  I won’t go into the sordid details……….

Seriously though, without all my drama queen antics, I’m really proud of her.  She’s way smarter than I was at her age.  (Well, except in the area of handling money which again, I won’t go into the sordid details.)  She works really hard and alot (she makes more money than I do, how disturbing is that?), supports herself, is bright and goes to college, works out all the time, has lots of friends, a good boyfriend (that I haven’t met yet), she’s got a good head on her shoulders and seems to learn her life lessons much faster than I ever did (except when it comes to money….ack!), she’s a talented artist and writer, she’s courageous and adventurous, she’s pretty and has loads of self respect and self confidence, she has integrity and knows right from wrong, she’s my biggest fan and I’m hers. 

Awwwwwww, ok I feel better.  Maybe I just needed to write it all down and see it in black and white to realize that I don’t have anything to worry about.  After all,  she’s most definitely smarter and more together than I was at her age and I turned out ok, (although there might be some debate about just how well I turned out. lol). 

When I was her age, I was a……well……….I won’t go into the sordid details.

Later on,

Laurie

>LOL Monday

>

Warning:  If you don’t like hilarity, Richard Simmons, Whose Line Is It Anyway, and possible risque content, view this video at your own risk.  If you’re a LMAO kind of person and aren’t easily offended, this video is freakin’ hilarious!  Some might find it to be in bad taste, but one person’s bad taste could be another person’s Dove Dark Chocolate, so who knows.

I had already written this entire blog post for today, had some really great stuff in it, too, and somehow it just…..disappeared!  Frankly, I’m a little nervous about where it went, because I’ve had some “uh oh” moments already this morning.

 First, in my clumsy attempts to upload a different video, a video that was  much  worse than this one in terms of inappropriateness, I accidentally posted it on the Etsy VAST team blog.  Now as awesome as the VAST team is, that blog is mostly about  two dimensional fine art.  I can just imagine their shock and dismay if they were to wake up this morning, check out that blog and there’s a  video of “the world’s drunkest guy” on there posted by none other than primalpainter!  Good Gawd!  Now that was a close one. I think I got it off of there, but I can’t help but wonder where that other post went…….

In my defense, I was going to title it “Just Say Noooooo” or put some other “Don’t be a Stupid Drunk” spin on it, but I decided that maybe it was too inappropriate even for this somewhat unserious blog. (Although I’ll probably show it to everyone who comes over today because it was hilarious!)  I’m starting to become suspicious that I have junior high mentality……not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In other news, I ordered some prints of my altered art photos from adoramapix.com last night so that was exciting, although  I have no idea how they’ll look as prints, or if the resolution is right, or the “whatever that is” is correct, or if “that thingy” is at the right setting, or blah blah blah blehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…   Huh, I’m sensing an attitude of some sort…….

In a perfect world, I would learn new things by osmosis.  All that technical jargon and understanding would just be painlessly absorbed into my head without any of the rolling of the eyes, pulling of the hair, banging of the head on the table, stomping around, locking myself in the bedroom to protect my loved ones from my horrible wrath, and last but not least, the gnashing of teeth. (Gnash, that’s a weird word, guh-nash)

It almost sounds like it’s Monday……

Have a good one,

Laurie

>Sunday’s Vibe Lifter

>

Lots of Hearts

(A happy stepping stone in the evolution of my recent sunset photo warping frenzy)

My brother sent to this to me today, I thought it was sweet and a nice message for a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  I don’t know who wrote it, but it makes me think of my Uncle Al (who’s still alive and feisty at 98 years old) and his wife, my Aunt Gladys, who died years ago from Alzheimer’s.  She didn’t get to meet my daughter Andi, but her birthday is next week, the same day as Andi’s birthday.  I still marvel at that synchronicity!

The Rain

It was a busy

morning, about 8:30, when an elderly

gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have

stitches removed from his thumb.

He said he was in a hurry as he had an
appointment at 9:00 am.
I took his vital
signs and had him take a seat,
knowing it would be over an hour
before someone
would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and
decided, since I
was not busy with another patient,
I would evaluate his wound..

While taking care of
his wound, I asked him if he
had another doctor’s appointment
this morning, as
he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he
needed to go to
the nursing home to eat breakfast
with his wife. I inquired as to her
health.

He told me that she had been there
for a while and that she
was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we
talked, I asked if she would be
upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew
who he was, that she had not
recognized him in
five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him,
‘And you still go every
morning, even though she
doesn’t know who you are?’
He smiled as he
patted my hand and said,

‘She doesn’t
know me, but I still know who she is.’

I had to hold back
tears as he left, I had goose bumps
on my arm, and thought, “That is
the kind of love I want in my life.’

True love is neither physical, nor romantic.
True love is an
acceptance of all that is,
has been, will be, and will not
be.

The happiest people don’t necessarily
have the best of everything;
they just make
the best of everything they have.

‘Life isn’t about
how to survive the storm,
But how to dance
in the rain.’
We are all getting Older
Tomorrow may be our turn

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Laurie