SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 2PM
The Unnamed Advantage
An acquaintance of ours, just lost their teaching job by saying something derogatory about Charlie Kirk. While you would not think that this had anything to do with us, it brought up an interesting discussion. While we don't have much in this life, we do have one crucial thing. We are free to speak our minds. We have no boss to say "no". We have no fear of losing our jobs or our living.
This may indeed be a thing that only independent creatives can claim. Not all of course. But to us who are already labeled heretics, there is little to lose about speaking the truth.
I've always lived my life without secrets. The good and the bad of my life is out there for the whole world to see. I have no fear of something I did 30 years ago coming back to haunt me. I am who I am.
A few years back a scam artist online tried to extort me, claiming they had nude photos of me and they'd share them with everyone if I didn't immediately give them a lot of money. I responded with a laugh and told them it would be a miracle if they could find someone who HADN'T seen a nude of me. Then I asked him which ones he had and that I send him more if he'd like. I never heard another word from him.
The point being that you cannot extort someone who has nothing to hide.
So I'm approaching this as a creative. I can and will speak out regarding the death of this amazingly stupid and ignorant man. I mourn anyone dying because it means they won't finally learn how to act as a decent human being. But I do not mourn the passing of fool.
So this gives creatives a lot power. How should we wield this power? I welcome your interactions on this.
The piece of art below was done during the last trump administration. But it could be anyone who has not learned the lesson of empathy.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 - SUNDAY 8:30PM
The thing they never mention about people who are trying to fulfill their creative dreams, is that most of us also have mental problems that run the spectrum from ADHD - to dreams of suicide. Its even worse when you are in a relationship with another creative. You don't only suffer with your own issues, but you struggle with theirs.
For many years now, I found the best way to keep my mental state calm was to create art. This is the basis of Art Therapy. But this does nothing when the other person in your relationship cannot do the same.
Some people swear that the only way around this is to never get into a relationship with where your partner is as creative as you. I am not sure that works though. The commonality that two creatives share is more important...at least to me. Creativity is my life and I doubt someone else who was not creative would be able to understand me. Its almost a common language that creatives share. It doesn't need words sometime.
But worse is when one creative rejects their own creativity. That's almost like cutting off your ear. Yes that was a Van Gogh reference. More on this later.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 - SUNDAY 2:00PM
CLEANING THE STUDIO
Deconstructing the Elysium Expanse
First on the list today is carefully taking apart the Elysium Expanse project. This project was a 3 dimensional box that changed its composition over and over. I won't go over the details again, but if you want to read more about it and see images, check out this link:
https://blog.immortalartist.com/2025/06/expanse.html
Needless to say, in a small studio, its taking up way too much space. So its time to break it down. But there is no reason why I can't create art from the components. Nothing gets wasted here. I may even decide to rebuild it later. For now its gone.
REARRANGING THE WORK TABLE
I've literally spent most of the afternoon trying to make the configuration of my work tables into a workable space. The conclusion...NOTHING FITS!
SUNDAY 7PM
I got a little overwhelmed I'm afraid and ended up taking a nap for a few hours. This is the problem with healing and trying to maintain an art career. There is stuff everywhere right now. But I am planning on working late tonight and try to put it together again.
Like Ray Bradbury, the objects in my studio give me inspiration and ideas. That's why its important for certain things to remain out and not buried in a box. This is important to me. A sterile studio will never work for me. But having said that, a massively disorganized studio also doesn't work. It puts my mind into havoc if my surroundings are like that. Finding the balance between clean and cluttered is difficult.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 - SUNDAY 12 NOON
My morning process
We all have ways we start out the day. I try very hard to create at least one piece of digital art right after I get into the studio. It centers and balances me. At the same time I'm reading messages from the night before and I'm formulating a plan for the day. I'm also thinking more about this journal. As I told a fellow artist, using this format forces me to write about how I lead my artistic life. A journal done on a blog has to find readers. But by doing it in an interactive chat, makes me chronologize my life in front of everyone. If I don't write, then the emperor has no clothes. These words are my way to clothe myself and practice what I preach.
So the priority of the day is to finish the portrait series and begin to clean up the studio. This has been a touch time for me physically. The open heart surgery is now 6 weeks ago, but the doctors tell me I'll still have rough patches through October. But I've felt more like myself these past few days. So I am tackling a studio that's been left to fall to ruin.
If the weather is good enough, I'll begin some work on the porch studio also. There is a poor Gollum hanging out there that needs to be finished eventually. So how do you start your day?
Image at the bottom is the first piece of art for the day.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2025 - SATURDAY 9:00PM
I think I pushed myself too hard today. I've not been nearly as energized as I was earlier. I finished two more portraits. There are only three more left of the original series then I'll move on.
Went to my favorite art store this evening...yep Home Depot. I find more interesting ideas and material there than I do anyplace else. The studio is very messed up right now. I bought a number of bigger containers to store stuff in and make some room.
The biggest problem with me is that I collect huge amounts of stuff to be used for ideas. I'm never at a loss for something to create but it makes for some terrible clutter. Tomorrow I'll try to clear some of it up. The problem with that is I lose things easily. I try to stay to more manageable sizes and all the same type of materials. I have a box for paint pens, a kiosk for several hundred paints, another box pastels, yet another for sculpting materials.
I do have a second studio outdoors. I converted my porch to act as a secondary work area. The problem with New Orleans is once it gets hot, it doesn't change until October. So no working out there all summer. But I hope to get out there tomorrow to clean it up and ready it for the nice weather soon to come our way.
I surprised a client today when I showed him a photo of his augmented print with a real crystal on the tiara resting on the woman's head. I explained that I have a complete cabinet for gems, crystals, minerals, etc. Its carefully curated from gem and rock shows and from my dear friend and fellow artist Kelly, who uses them in his work. So he watches for things that I can use.
I think that's all for tonight. Still getting used to documenting my day like this. But its kind of fun also. My mother was an avid journal writers. I have about 50 of her journals. So I hope to take a page from her work and get better at this.
Here are a couple of photos of the mess the studio is in tonight as well as the new portraits.
Portraits
SEPTEMBER 27, 2025 - SATURDAY 4:00PM
Every day as an artist brings something new to me. I think that's probably why I love art so much. Today I have been working on an Augmented Print for a buyer. An Augmented Print is a way to make a print more valuable. The print comes to me first and then add additional features and colors to create a variation of the original. This has to be approached carefully because I can't overdo it. The changes are subtle. What I don't want to happen is the client saying "this isn't what I ordered".
So in the current print I have first used a heavy paint to create raised features on the Flapper girl. I've raised her pearls and jewelry. Then I used metallic paint pens to augment the line work that around her. I then took her cigarette and added to it including adding a hot ember at the end of it and smoke rising up. Next I used a facetted crystal and placed it on her tiara.
All the time I am also looking at the print for other variations I might do.
At the end, once it dries I'll apply a heavy gloss spray to the whole print, which will bring out the colors better, especially the metallics. I like doing augments because it challenges me to see my art in a different way. And it gives the client something special for less than an original would cost. An original would be larger and have scroll work on the edges. The price would be around $600-$800 dollars. The augmented print on the other hand are $250. Mu more reasonable for clients who want to start out collecting my work.
So this has consumed most of my day. This evening I'll shift gears back to the portrait series. I have to tell you how much I'm enjoying working on these. They are strictly digital art at this time, but would be handled much the same as an augmented print if anyone were to buy one.
These portraits were originally created 2 years ago. That was before I began my learning and developing Tumultuism. While the originals were good, the remastering is far superior. I am planning on having a couple of them printed and I will create new work with them in multiple mediums. More on this later.
Below you'll see several angles of the augmented print including a side view so you can see the raised paint. I'll also put the two portraits finished today. Lastly I've included the document I send to potential buyers regarding how it works. This saves me a lot of headaches repeating myself.
AUGMENTED PRINT
PORTRAIT SERIES
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