Abyssal Refuge

A rainy morning…I’m off work…the squirrels are fed…the tea is on...and while I have a full day of productivity scheduled, I just need a short moment to be still and reflect while waiting for pain reliever to kick in.  Thought about making this another private journal entry, but then figured an art life update might do the blog game some good. Yay for public therapy.  The journal itself is already riddled with entries on existential struggles regarding purpose, life decisions, mental health, the fleeting nature of life, and what my Creator might allow me to contribute to this world before I leave it. I promise I’ll forego those details, for now, but suffice it to say of all the soul-searching, life studies, and re-inventing of myself I’ve done over the past several years, two things have remained the same…and strengthened:  my relationship with God and my passion for creation in the broadest sense. The paths I’m supposed to take and doors that might open or close remain bl...

My first blog post of the year, and it has to be spurred by sudden, acute irritation, bypassing all the other subjects that've been on my blog to-do list for years. This is nuts. I found myself at the Kansas City Comic Con yesterday with my cousin looking for a decent art print of Wonder Woman as I'd like a classic comic-style piece of her for my wall. As I was looking, I came across a rather large art booth with 3 colored prints of her which, while not my ideal picks, were not bad at all. It was then I looked up and saw who I figured was the artist working on a piece off in the corner of the booth, minding his own business with no one else around him. My curiosity as an artist sparked, and I slowly made my way over to him (I'm still a slightly shy person deep down). I read the giant comic art-plastered sign behind him which said NEAL ADAMS at the top. I figured that was him. The only western comic artist I really know the name of is Terry Dodson ...a prominent DC ar...

The title is a quote from me that I've been using since late high school...about 7 years ago at this point. And it's been at the bottom of all these blog pages since around that time as well. I was originally going to talk about this in a Facebook post, but it turned into something a little more personal. :] So, just briefly: Last night at work I was talking to a coworker (also a fellow artist) about daydreaming and how creative people are able to so thoroughly retreat within their own minds and indulge in imagination even when others find themselves bored and unproductive. He mentioned how music helps, but said he finds that it aids more in isolation of the mind rather than inspiration. I had to disagree. What I said after that made me realize that I've never really explained exactly how music inspires me before, so I felt like sharing: Our minds have been trained throughout our lives to respond emotionally to different types of music (via movie scores, lyrics, etc...

It's been a good while since I last posted an entry. Even though there is a long list of things I still want/need to record here, some of the subjects I have lined up are waiting on project updates and others require a certain amount of time and inspiration to properly convey. But, recently, I've been thinking about something I've got the time and drive to briefly go over now. I have known a lot of artistic people in my life who choose not to use their skill. I'm floored every time I talk to someone who has the potential and, for whatever reason, justifies not exercising it. Many times it's "I don't have time" or "I have more important things to be doing" or "it will never get me anywhere." It may just be hard for me to understand because I eat, sleep, and breathe in the realm of art. I bled, sweat, and cried over it in college earning my degree. The act of creating things satisfies me and brings me peace, comfort, and inspira...