Well it’s a travel day and I’m making my way home today so I thought I would share one of my favorite artists to share. This is Voka. He calls his work spontaneous realism. I love how his videos are constructed and his unique style. There is something about the looseness of this combined with the realism that just really speaks to my sensibilities.
Archive for July, 2021
This week, I’m on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
Witness this performance painting using sand, light, and hands. It is truly remarkable.
This week, I’m on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
Today I wanted to give you something a little classical. Click here to watch the video and listen to Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. Not into classical? Try this one by Emerson Lake and Palmer. I love this piece because of its inspiration. Mussorgsky went to an art exhibition and the movements of the piece were inspired by the paintings he saw that day. One of my artistic bucket list items is to do the reverse. Listen to the piece and create pieces based on I hear in the music. I’ve tried to create this as a speed painting exhibition but the movements are too short to do anything meaningful. What do these movements inspire in you? What other music would work for you. What could you do with a piece like this?
This week, I’m on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
This one is very simply a video of the 100 Greatest Paintings of all Time. Of course greatness is in the eye of the beholder, but a lot of these are pretty great.
This week, I’m on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
Today we have one of my favorite artists, painting one of my favorite artists, performance painter David Garibaldi painting Rush bassist Geddy Lee. These are two guys who have really climbed to the top of their art forms. Garibaldi was the warm up act on the Kiss End of the Road Tour. I do my own brand of performance painting, but to see the accuracy of Garibaldi is almost like watching a magic act, I can’t figure out how he does it, but the end result is amazing. See the video here.
And here is Garibaldi doing my favorite of his paintings and my absolute favorite Artist.
is week I am on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
This one comes from my dear friend and fellow mastermind member Jessie Nilo. When I first met Jessie, it was early in my creative arts ministry journey, feeling like I was alone in that Universe. I found her on a YouTube search of creative arts ministry, and I realized I wasn’t the only one. Eventually I traveled to Boise Idaho, so see what she was doing there, and the rest is history. I recently saw this beautiful video she created and I share it with you here.
I was having some trouble with embedding this video. I think I have solved the problem, but in the event that the embedded video doesn’t show, You can see it here.
This week I am on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
This time I am going to give you a song that always speaks to me and challenges to me. This is from one of what I consider to be the prophetic voices in Christian music today. Mark Hall from Casting Crowns. This once will challenge you as it is challenging to the church. What does this song inspire in you?
It’s called Start Right Here. Watch it on YouTube.
This week I am on vacation and truth be know, I need this one. I have been burning the candle at both ends for quite some time, and so my goal this week is to do very little work. Still I wanted to keep things going here, so I decided to share some videos that have really inspired me. These will be combination of songs that speak to me. artists doing interesting things and more. My prayer is that these pieces will spur you on to try something new. I’d love to get your reactions to these and I would love to see the results if you try something.
The first one was intriguing to me because of it’s title, Simple Galaxy Painting from Suraj Fine Arts. It shows a lot of really pretty simple techniques that ends up as a really beautiful piece. If you are a novice painter, there is a lot here that could be really helpful, plus the music is just so darn relaxing. It’s simple but beautiful. I think this would make a wonderful paint party piece.
I know what you might be tempted to quote Philippians 4:13 here, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” First I’d ask you to remember that this implies that Christ will empower you to do what He wants for you to do. You can’t flap your arms and fly for example, and while I know that is an absurd example, you know that’s just the kind of thing your unbelieving friends will throw at you if you quote that verse. Do I believe Jesus could do that if He wanted to? Unequivocally yes, but I also really question why He would want to. An besides that’s not what I’m really talking about.
Some people tell their children, they can do anything they set their mind to. This too is wrong. I will never be able to dunk on Lebron James, no matter how hard I try. What these parents should be doing instead is looking to their child’s unique gifts and talents, and prayerfully guiding them to find and use those gifts to the glory of God. If we believe we are designed by a loving God, than our gifts, talents and even godly passions can be a good sign to where we should be directing our efforts in this world. Now this is not to say we don’t try other things, sometimes we find hidden talents in this way. I for example was terrified to speak in public, and ended up becoming a preacher. Looking back however, I see my fear of speaking was more the result of abuse from my classmates, and if I look to my earliest memories, I see a passion for storytelling and other creative means of expression. My talent was not so much hidden as it was buried for a time by outside influences. God has gifted each of us, and sometimes it’s a matter of digging that talent up.
But still you can’t do everything. Even in my gifting, there are areas of strength and areas of weakness. I believe this is also by design. None of us were designed to be a “one man show.” We were designed for relationship and community. We who are in the church see this concept explained clearly in Paul’s writings on the body of Christ. Our strengths are designed not just for our use, but that we might help others and our weaknesses are designed to show us our need not just for Christ, though that is paramount, but also our need for others. We weren’t designed to be alone. You can’t do everything…
Thank God!
Before I start, I want to make a few statements. I don’t know Jeff Bezos. I don’t know much about him, how he conducts his life, his views on faith, his morals or anything of the kind, but then this post isn’t really about him, it’s about you and me. Recently Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the world’s richest man went into space on a rocket his company developed and ostensibly paid for, and it wasn’t long before the social media critiques began.
Here’s the thing. Jeff Bezos is no more special than you or me, except for one thing. There were probably a lot of people who could have come up with the idea to create an online book store. Bezos laid it on the line, risked his resources and did the work. He continued to do the work, take the risks, and the business expanded and grew to the point where now as I understand it, he is on track to be the world’s first trillionaire. He didn’t steal his wealth, He took high risks, and received high rewards. A lot of people could have probably done it, and no doubt a few tried, but one succeeded. I’ll say it again, high risk, high reward.
Now he has gone into space, and the critics are running amok. But here’s the thing, once again Bezos took the risk. Sure he’s really really rich and he got to enjoy a space flight, something most of us will likely never get to do. (For the record, I’m not sure I would if I could.), but he could just as easily have been blown to smithereens in a failed attempt. Once again high risk, literally high reward.
My favorite critique is “All that money could have been used to help the poor.” That argument has been thrown around at least since a sinful woman anointed Jesus with very expensive perfume. The money was Bezos’ to do with as he wanted. I don’t know what, if anything, Bezos does to help the poor, besides providing a boatload of jobs, which he does, but that’s not up to us either. What is up to us is what we do to serve the poor, or whoever we feel called to. I know some will want to cry out, but I don’t have a trillion dollars. That argument too is a crock, because if you want to see what you would do if you had a lot, start to look at what you are doing right now with what you have.
Bottom line, one day we will all stand before the righteous judge, and when you get to that place, unless you are Jeff Bezos, you won’t be asked to comment on Jeff Bezos, you will be asked what you did with what you had. Bezos took what he had and put it to work. He took a risk, it could have blown up in his face, but he did it anyway and reaped a huge reward. What are you doing with what you have? Are you taking risks, or are you playing it safe and whining when the those who risk get their rewards?
If you want to fly, you. must first decide to leave the ground.
AMOKArts 