creativity

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Do You Have This Vision?

Monday, October 4th, 2010

I have a vision of the future. It is a personal Utopia. In it, the people around me have no worries about money, and neither do I. In this vision, we all spend our time doing exactly as we like, and appreciate our time together and share enthusiasm for each others diverse interests and passions. There is a richness to life, and we are generous and nurturing and creating a legacy of positive works and energy to enrich the world. By example of our actions and contentment, our lives have meaning beyond anything we can comprehend.

Do beliefs drive you?

I believe that we all have passions and talents, and that given the right circumstances we will thrive. I believe that the world has wealth for everyone, but we are kept from it by ignorance, complacency and conditioning. I also believe that we as a society have been deceived about money, and that there are forces at work to keep us from ever achieving our true potential and wealth.

I believe that we can overcome those obstacles by becoming educated in the ways of deception, by maintaining constant vigilance against it, and by taking action. I believe that when we personally take those steps, we will find our Utopia. I believe that in creating that perfection we will find others who are doing the same, and together we will influence and enrich the world.

Our values keep the vision alive.

Each of us has the ability to affect others in a positive way.

My personal passion is for making art which communicates positive energy, inner peace, and a sense of guiding spirituality.

I am successful in that regard. I know that the art objects I make are valued for those qualities, because people who buy them tell me their reactions to living with them. In two extreme examples, women have told me that they chose my paintings as focal points while giving birth.

These artworks and the lives of those they affect are my legacy to the world. They will continue to elevate the spirits of others long after I am gone.

Why should you care?

You, too have the ability to affect others in positive ways. You have talents (even if you‘re not sure what they are) which are ready to be perfected, magnified, and developed into passions which will enrich you and everyone around you.

Take a look at your ideal life. If you had time and money to do exactly as you please, what positive talent would you develop? It could be a subtle as the talent of nurturing and helping others, or the talent of gardening, companionship, perfecting a golf game, or anything else.

Now take a look at you life as it is. Do you have the luxury of developing and following your passion? Do you feel held back by circumstances, and can’t see a way out? Would you like to know how to change things, so you can have the freedom to realize your full potential?

I’m doing it. This is how.

Many years ago I graduated from college with a masters degree in art and was scrambling to find enough money to pay the rent. I spent so much time working low paying jobs that I had no time to make art. In a panic/depression, I realized that I would have to find some way to make enough money to be able to afford the “luxury” of making art (since no one was buying it and supporting me.)

It became obvious that my best option was to start my own business, work for myself, make my own hours and get out of the workday rut. It was the only avenue which could produce the money and time I so desperately wanted.

I started a long stream of entrepreneurial ventures — all with that same goal of becoming independently wealthy so I would never have to compromise my ideals of making art. Some gave me money, but they did not give me time. I was dissatisfied.

What I’m doing.

I’ve found a new venture which has everything I want. I am surrounded by other entrepreneurs who share the same positive Utopian vision that I believe in. It has given me insights to avoid several financial pitfalls and build wealth. Now I have the time and freedom I want. I am an Internet entrepreneur. You can join me in this quest to reach your ideals too.

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Creativity & Marketing

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Many people have remarked that they think it is unusual for an artist to also have business skills.  In my world, the two are inseparable, and this video reveals a bit of how I use creativity to excel at both.

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PrimaryBusinesses.Net

I‘m a full-time internet marketer, and a painter, too.  People talk to me about the paintings quite a bit.  They will say “Oh, you’re so blessed to have such talent,”  and Click to continue »

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Creative Trance

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

A few weeks ago I got an email from Patrick Friel, who is a connoisseur and historian of avant-garde and experimental film and video. He’s the one who contacted me back in 2003 to let me know that one of my old 16mm films was being shown in Chicago as part of a celebration for the 30th anniversary of Chicago Filmmakers Coop, a respected alternative film venue.

It was great to get that call, since it had been years since I stopped making films and returned to painting. I started making films as a way to “paint with light,” and dove in with a passion which I was sure would change the art world forever. But after having about a hundred showings in colleges and museums in the US, Europe and Scandinavia, I discovered that there were only a handful of people in the (then) free world who had a clue what I was doing.

16mm film making was expensive, too, so I retreated and went back to experimenting with painting. After about ten years I developed a style of contemporary Impressionism which is still evolving.

Let me say here that one aspect of art making which I find extremely interesting is what I call a “trance effect.” Others call it “being in the zone” or operating from a “higher consciousness.” Either way, what it means is that when an artist has mastered his materials and craft, art can be created from deep within his being. This state of extreme concentration is exclusive to the moment, in that external stimulation is shut out. I also think of this effect as if it is a dream state from deep sleep.

There is a residual effect from all that art-making. So, when Patrick called in 2003 I was essentially deep asleep, immersed in waves of soft creativity. I knew that my films were out there in museum collections and a few coops, but it all seemed far away and long ago.

I woke up! In the ensuing weeks, Patrick opened my eyes to new digital media, and convinced me to make another film. I did. It was called “New Kisses”, and I created it on mini-DV, and edited on a mac with final cut. (I had to take lessons on how to edit.)

But like Rip Van Winkle, who woke up to find that not only had the world changed but that he had grown older and changed, too, I discovered that something in me had unexpectedly evolved. I wasn’t happy to start making new films the way I used to. I needed something else– I wanted to write a feature film and direct it. So I did! (The result is “Bruce Wood’s The Door” — find it on Amazon/ ask for it on Netflix)

Patrick had no idea what he had set in motion! So here it is, half way through 2009, and he wants to put together a retrospective show of several of my old films. It will be held in a few weeks, in a storefront theater in Chicago, which he promises has a killer projection system.

He wants me to be there for the show, but I’m in Boston taking care of my elderly father, and the obligation to be here is more important than the show. Patrick has the answer, though. I will talk to the audience via Skype! What a hoot! This will be fabulous!

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