And now a Mahaloness refresher, both in word and with some foto.

This blog is dedicated primarily to information sharing. The information I am sharing is my life’s work consisting of artistic explorations and my art pilgrimage through word and foto. By definition I am part contemporary visual artist and visionary.
Definition of visionary, pulled off the net:
vi·sion·ar·y (vzh-nr)
adj.
1. Characterized by vision or foresight.
2.
a. Having the nature of fantasies or dreams; illusory.
b. Existing in imagination only; imaginary.
3.
a. Characterized by or given to apparitions, prophecies, or revelations.
b. Given to daydreams or reverie; dreamy.
4.
a. Not practicable or realizable; utopian: visionary schemes for getting rich.
b. Tending to envision things in perfect but unrealistic form; idealistic.
n. pl. vi·sion·ar·ies
1. One who is given to impractical or speculative ideas; a dreamer.
2. One who has visions; a seer.
vision·ari·ness n.

I am a visionary in that I have visions, and I am a dreamer. I think that it is safe to say throughout my art career that I have experienced the impractical and the unrealistic. How can it be practical when I am in fact a dreamer, especially while attempting to make a living at it in the real world. I am constantly faced with adversity and uncertainty. I am at the mercy if the universe and thats just the beginning. I have been relatively lucky and enjoyed plenty of good opportunities in my art career, that spans nearly a decade. I feel good about that. In that time I have mastered my craft. I can honestly say I have found it difficult over the years to sell my heart and soul. Every painting I make is my heart and soul, as well as the product of my labour and intense concentration. Each painting exhibits pain staking attention to detail, I take pride in my craft, and technique is important to me. Through technique I was a able to develop my own style. When I began I simply attempted to mimmic some of my contemporaries and painters of old. I studied journals, read a lot of art history texts, read a lot of art rags, and watched a lot of artist interviews on Charlie Rose. I have travelled to places like New York, where I immersed myself in the arts and culture of that city. I have also travelled to the Hawaiian Islands, both for inspiration and first hand experience with Polynesian arts and culture. When I decided to be an artist I implemented a steady regime of daily practice, every day, religiously. This consisted of doodles, drawings, paintings, reading, photography and writing. I have moleskine after moleskine filled with doodles and notes, and when I go through them chronologically I see a steady progression in technique and ideas. I lean towards the geeky side of things, I am interested in spiritual matters and channeling energy. Like most geeks I love learning, while continuously experimenting, slowly over time building up my own style, and my own bag of tricks. This has been the exciting part of making art, finding my style and developing it from early chicken scratch drawings and slowly learning how to paint fluid and vibrant imagery. Painting is laborious for me, it is work, there is no way around it. I have moved around a lot of paint, and in doing so learned through doing how it works, what works and what doesn’t. If there is a secret to art it is the secret of doing and it is that simple. Currently I am preparing to hang a show of my work, which consists of paintings from the last couple years. This show will mark a milestone for me, a pinnacle and transition as I prepare to take a new direction in my life. I never dreamed this is what I would be doing when I was a kid. Painting and art came to me later in life, and and that is honest truth. I did my first solo show when I was 28, it was a both a surprise and a lot of pressure. If I knew than what I know now I am not sure if this was the best ‘career’ choice, I certainly never expected to make it big at painting, and even if I did it wouldn’t change the fact it is a lot of work and at times the monkey that just wont get off my back. There is no way that I will ever be paid enough for the hours I have banked. This is something I have struggled with and what I am discovering is that it doesn’t have to be that way. The simple fact is that creativity is one thing, making art is another. For me art is something that moves me, that makes me think and reflects the current pulse. My craft is what I have had to work at and the art is intrinsic, so it took me a while to master my craft in order to make art that has the components mentioned above.

As I look back at my work, my legacy, I remain unclear as to where exactly my drive to make art comes from. It has has been quite a magical experience, beyond the day to day grind, and at times inexplicable. I remember the days when I was an avid windsurfer. I would drop everything I was doing to go ride the wind, as soon as it was up, I was gone. Perhaps it was an obsession, an attraction to danger and extreme testing of self, and these experiences a catalyst to me becoming an artist. We all have an obsession, our obsession to search, discover, and to be spiritual crusaders even if we don’t know it. As humans we have been making art a long time, going way back to the first human.

Barnett Newman quote:

“A science of palaeontology that sets forth this proposition can be written if it builds on the postulate that the aesthetic act always precedes the social one. The totemic act of wonder in front of the tiger-ancestor came before the act of murder. It is important to keep in mind that the necessity for dream is stronger than any utilitarian need. In the language of science, the necessity for understanding the unknowable comes before the desire to discover the unknown.”

The aesthetic act is what I tap into, the momentum is already there, its getting in it, and going unabated, almost egoless. This is a difficult standard to maintain. I have literally attempted to live off my art; an ongoing experiment, that has seen me shine and has tested every ounce of my courage and right on the edge of my own sanity. I am happy to pass that torch on and take the next step at this point in my life as I get sentimental about my art pilgrimage. I was at times reckless, even brash. There were times when I could cut the tension with a knife. I did what I had to do. This is what makes art interesting, loaded with passion, authentically Mahaloness; it is a beast and if left untamed and unchecked can create all sorts of wonder, shock and awe. What I am only now discovering is that art is not necessarily who I am, it is a record of my life’s work, a trail of breadcrumbs that link me to this planet I live on, and that I love. As the full moon rises on this lucky Wednesday, I look ahead, envisioning what’s to come, my drive as strong now as it was a decade ago. Thank you to those who have supported this journey on one way or another and to Agent R you are incredible, you don’t even know. Keep up the good work out there.

Update! Shows up at the gorilla house, if you are in Calgary and want to book an appointment to view the work please contact me at Mahaloness@gmail.com
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Fotomahaloness -painted bread crumbs from the last couple years.