Cat’s like catnip and they don’t respond at all to a description of what it will do for them.  They just want the actual nip.

Dogs are the same way with yard logs which are of the greatest value and garner the most sustainable joy when rolled on.

I know it can be reigned in by people, but most of us also have that nature.  The nutritionists and medical community tell us the perils of things we put in ourselves but because of the delight associated with consumption, the warnings go often unheeded.

The facts paint a far different story than the words of con men and gold diggers and politicians and yet they never lack for victims or voters.

It appears that a very high value is given to the shape and size and taste of the delivery. Deliver beautiful lies, you’re in. Beautiful deceptions sell beautifully. Ugly ones, sometimes even do better.

I paint the beauty I see, and when I have experienced a mismatch, it’s been impossible to proceed. This, because I see as much with my heart as with my eyes it can become a conflict. Some people seem prettier than they look. Others are definitely more appealing on the outside than in their perceivable soul.

This can not be accidental. I have to believe that it’s a crucial element of humanity, to be able to learn and act on the truth while recognizing and avoiding deception. There are so many opportunities to fine tune the BS detectors built in to us.

On the good side of it though, are members of the creative community. Our job, as I see it, is to present the best view of places, people, and things, and present it well. I reject the complainers who come back and say that this amounts to fantasy and is thereby deceptive in it’s own right. It’s not. 

Paint a portrait today, it won’t look the same as when you paint it tomorrow. Things change, people change, moods change, the times change.

The idea that showing your subject in the best light amounts to contrivance is to dismiss the fact that we can be better, happier, beautiful, and good. A good practice activity for me is to use good manners. Life stays civilized.

I think I’ve gone down this path already.

We, most of us, understand the power of effective delivery when there is something we earnestly want.

At other times it’s not as obvious that we accept the responsibility to employ that understanding to comport ourselves well or interface with the world in a superior way.

I certainly forget. Mostly, it’s when I come up with a funny thought that I must share. Not all of them appeal to an elevated sensibility.

As a painter however, it’s always in the mix. I always want to tell the story in the most compelling and convincing way. That can mean I use simple clean lines. It can call for complexity. It’ my job not just to get it done, but to get it done exactly right so that the viewer understands perfectly or is carried away by their own imaginations to the right destination.