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Paul Viel - Unusual Dreams

Sleeping Beauty
Photo Manipulation

Every now and then I try my hand at art. It's never the steady hand of an Escher or the mysticism of Denton Lund or Rassouli, never as creatively unique as Noelle Dass yet it is my own. I have no style that is consistent. This image is an overlay of a photo I took along the Oregon shoreline overlaid with an image of a sleeping woman. The idea for the overlay came from the form of the cape jutting into the Pacific Ocean. I don't claim to be a professional artist but I love art and even some of my own art and the creation process inspires me to keep trying.

So what is it we try to do when we create a piece of art, a dance, a verse or sonnet. The problem with trying to define art is that it's personal to the artist. It's truth and the more unvarnished the truth the the sweeter the taste of the art. I sometimes try to understand why we dance, paint, write or simply create anything. I always fail to fully understand even myself. I do know deeper the honesty the deeper I am touched. I'm not talking the false honesty of sensationalism created prove one's own hipness or morose depression with life. Life is a balance of good/evil, prosperity/poverty, elation/sorrow but through it all there is a richness in our ability to adapt. Our dreams, thoughts, aspirations, actions will always be our own; so too our creativity reflects our spirit.

DaVinci, Waterhouse, Picasso, Rembrandt, Dali are just a few of those who passed on their gifts. Many will never see an exhibit of Van Gogh or Matisse but in their lives images, words, music and dance and more creative venues will shape the world we live in and the future of our souls. So I try but like many others who create I'll not be satisfied until a bit of me is passed on to even one person because in that passing I live beyond my life and touched another soul in a place where honesty is complete.

This blog will continue to grow as I revisit artists that have touched my mind. This all reminds me of a creation of Leonard Cohen (one of my favorite writers/singers) I think it's this excerpt from his song Suzanne that still rattles in my brain that tell me to keep trying to write, create and live.

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she's half crazy
But that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind.

Noelle Dass, Whimsy and Peter Pan

Dog and the Monkey

Sometimes, when I least expect it, a day comes along where the tiedye tees glow and the veggies all seem fresh and clean. That would be the Saturday market in Eugene Oregon. Food and artists and crafts people gather together to literally blow my mind. The last visit to the Saturday Market some art caught my eye and I just loved it. Maybe the bright colors or the simplicity that conveys without words messages more complex than they first appear. Whole stories filled my mind of the hapless monkey that dropped it's banana or the dog chasing a ball in the hot sun. I did talk to the artist for a moment in an instant of mindlessness and said the art would be great in a childs room. She reminded me many adults purchased her art for themselves. I felt old like Peter Pan before he found his youth again in the movie "Hook." Sometime later at the 5th street market (not to be confused with the Saturday Market) I passed a gallery that featured Noelle's creations a style she calls "Artimals" and purchased the dog in the hot sun for myself and a bovine eclypse for my ADULT son. He loved it. Well I contacted Noelle and she gave me permission to share these two pieces with you in my blog. If there were more Noelle's around moving from New York to Oregon I'm sure the world would be too busy enjoying life to ever totally give up their youth. You can visit her web page at http://www.noelledass.com/ Don't miss the wonderful watercolors also exhibited on her site Be sure to tell her Peter Pan said hello and buy something for yourself.

Thank you Noelle

Denton Lund - Inspired Creator

Denton Lund's web page :

"Cambria" by Denton Lund

"I am continuously striving to stretch beyond my limitations and parameters in the process I use, in the themes I select, in the subjects I render, and in the colors I express in my paintings. Each act of painting, as it becomes more spontaneous, also becomes a satisfying journey of delight and discovery. Through my paintings, I seek to establish a connection with those who view my work so that they may also share in the journey. The paintings, themselves, form the bond between the artist and those who would view them."

I have viewed his art for years on the web. I've never been a collector of art because of the cost. If I were a collector this is an artist I would fill a room with for several reasons. He says that he seeks to establish a connection through his paintings through those who view them. He and his wife do more than that. His wonderfully creative and mostly southwestern and Native American art grabbed me in a mental embrace. I look and see vivid colors vibrant themes and mystical beauty. I once wrote and asked Denton permission to use his art on my first web page. Not only did I get an immediate positive response from his wife and I'm sure his inspiration but they also put a link on their web page back to mine. They send a greeting on holidays. The thing that struck me about the Lunds is that they work with a passion to give others life and inspiration. While it is a living to be a professional artist, this artist will always, in my mind, be one who gives his dreams to others so they can grow and see beauty of that mystical movement we call art.

John William Waterhouse

The Lady of Shalott, 1888 John William Waterhouse

Quote from http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/

"John William Waterhouse (1849-1917), affectionately known as Nino in his younger days, was born in Rome on the 6th of April, 1849. Both of his parents were English painters who moved to Italy in pursuit of art. Waterhouse and his parents eventually moved back to England some time in the late 1850's. While growing up, Waterhouse assisted his father in art studio where the young Waterhouse developed his talents for sculpting and painting. In England, after several attempts at admission to the Royal Academy, he finally succeeded entrance in 1870. In 1885, Waterhouse became an Associate of the Royal Academy, and then a full member, Royal Academician, in 1895.

Although often classified as a Pre-raphaelite for his style and themes, Waterhouse is truly a Neo-Classic painter. Some of Waterhouse's earlier works were focused on Italian themes and scenery, reflecting his love for his birth place. Later on, his works picked up the styles and classical themes of Pre-raphaelites such as Alma-Tadema and Frederick Leighton. Waterhouse went on to paint well over 200 paintings depicting classical mythogolgy, historical and literary subjects, particularly those of Roman mythology and classic English poets such as Keats and Tennyson. Femme fatale is a common theme in his works, as most are of beautiful elegaic women and of many men are victims.

Waterhouse is one of the rare artists who became popular and relatively well-off financially when he was alive. He continued to paint until his death on the 10th of February, 1917 after a long illness. His style became a major influence on many of the later Pre-raphaelites including Frank Dicksee and Herber James Draper.

Today, many of his works are in private collections or somewhere unknown; however, most of his famous paintings can be found scattered all over England. Among these is "The Lady of Shalott" - 1888, which can be found in London; "Hylas and the Nymphs" - 1896, at Manchester City Art Gallery, and "Echo and Narcissus" - 18xx, at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. His other famous works can be found around the world including Germany (La Belle Dame Sans Merci), Scotland (Penelope and the Suitors), and Australia (Circe Invidiosa)."

Waterhouse was a wonderful artist worth a look at a man who made legends become beautiful images.

Elaine Viel and Peter Viel - Art is not always on paper

There are many kinds of artistic images not just paintings. Christo and Jeanne-Claude and others like this award winning piece by a Virginia artist are always intriguing to me. I have an imagination that keeps me thinking and relating images to events and images in my personal history.

This one I titled "Tears of the Sun" not after the Bruce Willis movie it was just the image the art drew out of me. Could be I'd heard the movie title and it was tucked back in my mind. At any rate I hope you get the idea. Art is maybe best characterized by the Masks of Comedy and Tragedy of the theater. Another art is music. Today various arts intermix and meet in many ways. Rock Opera started

From Wikipedia ~ "The earliest example of a theatrical production that incorporated rock and pop music was Hair, a hippie-themed musical subtitled "The American Love/Rock Musical" that made its debut in late 1967. Much like Jesus Christ Superstar, the first notable rock musical after Hair, it was very controversial in its day. Jesus Christ Superstar, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice was first recorded as a concept album in 1970 and the money made from album sales was used to fund the subsequent stage production in late 1971. The musical Godspell which was written after Jesus Christ Superstar but was actually staged before it, had similar religious themes (albeit much less controversial) and pop/rock influences. "

and

"The Who returned with Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera. Tommy remains one of the most famous rock operas, with concert, film and theatrical productions mounted over the course of three decades. The Who would later release another rock opera, Quadrophenia, also made into a film.

Townshend may also be the originator of the term itself. In 1966, he played a comedy tape to his friends called "Gratis Amatis". One of his friends made the comment that the odd song was "rock opera." Kit Lambert, the Who's producer, is than believed to have said "Now there's an idea!" However, the July 4, 1966 edition of "RPM Magazine (published in Toronto) notes that "Bruce Cockburn and Mr [William] Hawkins are working on a Rock Opera, operating on the premise that to write you need only 'something to say'."

Ten years later, Pink Floyd enjoyed similar success with their rock opera The Wall, written primarily by Roger Waters, which became the third best-selling album of all time. As with Tommy, The Wall has been staged both by Pink Floyd (1980-81) and Waters (1990) as an incredibly elaborate concert, with Waters' version taking place at the Berlin Wall. The plot was also used in an eponymous feature film, and Waters is currently adapting the story for a Broadway-style production."

Point is art is many disciplines rolled into an umbrella. Art, it may be said, is the enlightenment of the mind where muses create , dance, sing and make clear images and we may all be amused in the more complex sense of the word. Everything good is found in truth and reality and it is always a mixture of comedy and tragedy and never the absence of either.

Rassouli

Freydon Rassouli has been one of my favorite artists for a long time. Mystical art at it's best by a true visionary.

He was raised in a historical home decorated with murals and intricate floral designs. Inspired and encouraged by his mystic uncle, Rassouli developed an early appreciation for painting and mystical poetry, and spent endless hours taking lessons from classical and impressionist artists, and studying mysticism. Soon he discovered new ways to transform his subconscious images into forms that he could share with others. Recognized as the Best Student Artist in Iran at 15, Rassouli was awarded a government grant to study painting in Europe. He migrated to the United States in 1963, where he studied painting and architecture at the University of New Mexico, and was honored with the Leadership Award from the Institute of International Education though he began his professional career as an architect, creating three-dimensional structures to satisfy his artistic drive, Rassouli's passion for painting persevered. Through time, he has created hundreds of artworks that have received global recognition for his unique Fusionart style

This piece of work is called "Celestial Song"

Emily Lindsay - The Mind's Eye

The Mind's Eye

I love this bird
I'm not sure why
To watch it live
To see it fly
Feather, thistle, hill and scrawl
It warms my mind
To see it all
Drawn from a wildly fertile mind
By tender hands upon a wall
True creation
Hear the call

I watched Pleasantville again today and enjoyed the depiction of a colorless world being transformed to vivid color. A wonderful movie to watch and to listen once more to another wonderful Lennon/McCartney lyric.

Across The Universe
(Lennon and McCartney)

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Jai guru de va om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
That call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box they
Tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing
Through my open ears inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a
million suns, it calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Jai guru de va, jai guru de va
Jai guru de va, jai guru de va
Jai guru de va.

I looked for the meaning of "Jai guru de va" and came up with this explaination.

"The line "jai guru deva om" is a mantra of John's designed to help him concentrate while meditating, something he was into at the time. It means roughly "Glory to the spiritual master" and has the focusing sound "omm" at the end. (Translation varies according to particular level of Sanskrit used for divination.)"

Vincent van Gogh - Cafe Terrace

Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night

Vincent van Gogh's The Cafe Terrace stands as one of the painter's most remarkable works. It is also, without question, one of the most famous produced in Van Gogh's brief but prolific career.

Cafe is the first in a trilogy of paintings which feature starlit skies. Starry Night Over the Rhone came within a month, followed by the popular Starry Night painted the next year in Saint-Ramy.

For me this painting is what art is about - touching souls. I used to say "I just don't get it. What's so special about a painting?" Later I found Escher fascinating, Picasso weird, Rembrandt crisp, Michelangelo mystical,O'Keeffe sensual, etc.

Then I see Sargent's Ambergris and in it's simplicity it tells a story. They all can come alive and we begin to realize that art is the release of our souls and can only really be seen when we cut through the numbing existence in which all of us humans reside.

Art is a trip just like the drugs some take or the adrenaline rush of an athlete. It's the escape of a movie or novel or the RV trip across the states. It's the submission to confession I took as a young man feeling free of sin. It's winning the superbowl.

Do you ever wonder why we all try so hard to escape our very average lives and the repetition? Why do we fall back so easily into the rut we travel very much like a worn path used by a herd of cattle?

My most current wonder is to ask how does the large body of fine art that is so diverse touch souls and bring them to life or cause them to dream of worlds unknown - or worlds that should be.

Touching Souls


As the wind whispers through the leaves
I hear a melody as sweet as a symphony
It's the voice of tenderness
From an open soul
It's never as it seems
It's the sound of two souls touching