Robzentaur1’s Blog

So are there any artists out there who do not feel the pain of rejection if their work is criticized or ignored or rejected? I would love to hear from you. I cannot claim to be such a one. The other day I was telling a couple of friends, one an artist, about my upcoming digital show in Seattle and was waxing enthusiastic about the opportunity to have my work seen by 300 people at once. One called me a “hippy” and the other wondered if I knew that “light shows” were a dinosaur leftover from the Sixties. Wow, did that churn up some emotions! I ruminated on those comments for hours, instead of just letting them go and getting on with whatever was happening in the moment.

I have seen Tibetan sand mandalas on two different occasions and was very inspired by the patience and skill of the monks, crouching in uncomfortable positions, slowly funneling millions of tiny sand grains into exquisite and intricate patterns of spiritual symbology. For them the process and act of creation is the reality, the expression of Buddha Mind. They are supremely unattached to any result and the end product is swept up and placed into an urn, only to be ceremoniously spilled into a nearby river, or thrown to the winds. Then they go to another location and start all over again.

Would that I be as unconcerned about reactions to my art, to my bruiseable ego, neither of which truly exists. Oh well, it gives me something to strive toward. Awareness is the key. If you are an artist then it is your job to lend beauty and meaning to people’s lives, to give them a glimpes into realms that are unexpressible in other ways. Is it possible for you to see that it is all a process that arises from Universal Consciousness and not take it personally? I sincerely hope you will be able to shed light on this important aspect of your creative life.

Here is a mandala titled “Growth” and can be purchased from my website at http://www.artbyinglis.com With hands palm to palm, I bow and say thank you for your interest in my art and the process of creation.

Growth

This morning I am working on some new pieces for the May 7th Parallels (the music of Yes) performance at Seattle’s Columbia City Theater. I have been told that there will be a 6′ x 12′ screen behind the stage and I will have carte blanche to create any images I like for the setlist. Amazing. How many artists get such an opportunity? Many of my works are inspired by and painted while listening to Yes music. Now I get to display these images with this very music in a live venue with an audience of 300 or so people. I am especially excited to do images for “Into the Lens”, a song that I love and have listened to hundreds of times, both the Yes version and the Buggles version. My take on this song is that the mind is a camera and all is reflected therein. A dozen morphing flash animations would do justice to this music, however I will have to be content with several still images and hope they will serve.  Will post them here after the show.

So the self doubts are coming up before I even start….notice them and be aware of their passing nature. And get to work, because every brush stroke, every cut and paste is not a step toward a goal, but the goal itself. Here I would give a bit of advice to other creators…..whatever it takes, learn to be one with your process, because herein lie the real riches you seek. A deep sense of satisfaction can be found at every step of the Way, to the degree you can step out of time while painting, or dancing, or living!

I have already completed the four paintings for “Into the Lens, as of Sat, Apr 17, but having difficulty envisioning a sequence for “Close to the Edge”, one of the greatest of all Yes songs, about 20′ in length.  This number deserves something special visually…..perhaps something nature based, since it has lyrics about rivers, etc.  I may be tempted to go galactic and do a series of abstracts based on nebulae. 

Here’s the final image that will be on screen before the band enters.  Then it will segue into the Close to the Edge” sequence. 

Parallels Concert, May 7, Columbia Theater, Seattle