Book Cover Illustrations

No matter which of the arts a creative person works in, there are always “critics” offering their opinions of the artist’s work. Some critics may be well-meaning. Others, however, are simply spiteful little trolls who would destroy if they could, and barring that, are happy to sling their warped notions your way as “friendly advice” […]

“Optimally, childhood ends, and adults develop a mature, tragic acceptance of limitations. They come to terms with differences of talent; some are more intelligent, better athletes, better mathematicians, more creative. Accepting this is, paradoxically, a necessary step toward real achievement because it allows discovery of one’s own unique talents.” — Stephen Rittenberg, MD Childlike qualities […]

Author Jack Eason recently posted an excellent article about Literary Snobs. Any writer — especially a beginning writer — would do well to read his post. Ditto for artists, musicians, or others in creative fields who often face such critics. Sadly, snobs often become critics, both professional and amateur. And unlike those critics who do […]

Creative people often feel highs of joy and lows of sorrow that others may never experience, and perhaps could not even handle if they did. Little wonder many outside the creative world mistake (or dismiss) eccentric responses of the spirit as weakness or mental illness. But in the end, these dismissive souls will never know […]

One of the pictures (which I posted for Halloween in the previous blog entry) caught the eye of designer David Grasekamp who asked to use it as “Mephisto” in newsletter advertising an upcoming lecture/exhibition about form in art — and which would include a showing of the 1926 German movie “Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage.” […]

I recently wrote a small article for Dr. Shelley Carson’s blog page. For those unfamiliar with Dr. Carson, she teaches an award-winning (and very popular) course “Creativity: Madmen, Geniuses, and Harvard Students” at Harvard. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure to exchange emails with her, discussing how my various experiences have influenced my own […]

Some in the art community fear that Washington DC politicians may cut funding to the arts (NEA, etc.) in an effort to get the budget in check. My take? Please make the cuts. Right to the bone. Every April 14th I send the IRS a big chunk of my earnings. Probably you do, too. I […]

In creative endeavors, you often submitting to contests, agents, or publishers. More often than not, your work is rejected. That’s the moment that separates the pros from the amateurs. Many a good writer or artist falls to the wayside after a few rejections. And the truth is quite simple: If you don’t submit what you’re […]

Theodora Goss recently posted an interesting entry on her blog “On Beauty.” She explores the idea of beauty and how our perceptions of beauty tend to follow mathematical fractal patterns found in nature. This reminded me of some very different experiments using software to create “beauty” by combining facial characteristics from a number of photos. […]

Well, 2011 is here. Time to start dating checks by the wrong year once again. And hope the family doctor doesn’t try the Alzheimer’s trick question, “Mr. Long, what year do you think it is?” As those who follow this blog know, I often create digital paintings strictly for my own fun and entertainment. So […]