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I am honored to be featured in Art Chowder, the magazine focusing on art and artists of the Pacific Northwest, USA.

A post by Carolyn Henderson, my wife and manager:

Too often, when we catch sight of ourselves in the mirror we don't like what we see.

"I look old. Crow feet around my eyes; wrinkles on my forehead.."

"God, I'm fat."

"What a big nose I have."

What we mean, really, is, "I don't look like the Botoxed, air-brushed, Photo-shopped, digitally filtered, half-starved celebrities that are pushed in front of my face everywhere I go."

With every fiber of your being, resist the chains that the media, politicians, technocrats, and billionaires want to bind you with. You were born to be free, not a slave of those who think they are elite. Be who you are, not who they say you should be.

Freedom is not a left/right, blue/red, a/b type of thing, but politics is. And politics has little concern for freedom. Do not let the carefully constructed contention of politics destroy your relationship with others. Politics is a game, but relationships are real.

In a totalitarian system, examples of hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation are sentences like “I don’t believe you,” and, “I think you’re lying,” addressed to ruling authorities.

Beauty inspires us to look deeper than at our phone screen, to listen for wisdom that is non-existent on "news" programs, to reach out for something that we can't physically touch, but very much know is there.

No news station or outlet is neutral if it has sponsors because it is obligated to keep the advertisers happy. How likely is it that they will report anything negative about their advertisers or sponsors?

Fences aren’t furniture, so they’re not made to be sat upon. If you’re on the fence about what’s going on today, think, question, research, and make some decisions.

You've got an adventure ahead of you -- and it's your life. You can spend it in fear, like a ship permanently in harbor (or a human in front of the TV), or you can go out and meet that adventure head on.

She. Was. Done. Done with being jerked around by fatuous promises, done with putting her life on hold until she was given "permission" to move forward. It was time to stop living in fear (which she should never have accepted in the first place) and start, well, living. A relaxing bath was a fine beginning.

She decided to boycott mainstream news, fear, peer pressure, political platitudes, and multi-billion dollar corporations. She bought local, loved on her family, thought a lot, and walked free.

Pretend you are a sailboat, and imagine the journeys you will take. No self-respecting sailboat is content to stay in the harbor because it’s “safe.” Better to take a chance and live.

It is possible for humans and nature to coexist; we have done so for untold years. It’s just that both sides have to agree to not wipe out the other for the sake of massive profits for an elite group of parasites and continuously increased income to the shareholders.

It’s easy to get swept along by the views of public opinion, but before we do, it’s wise to reflect that public opinion is more realistically shaped by publicity makers -- politicians and media – than it is by the public. Stop and give serious time to your own thoughts.

Nobody likes to be fooled. But when we are, the best course is to admit we fell for a lie, identify those who put forth the lie, and walk onward, no longer listening to the prevaricators.

The difference between caution and fear is that caution goes out, alert to danger and prepared to meet it, while fear doesn't go out at all. A harbor is a refuge when you are free to leave it, a prison when you are not.

When something happens a lot, it doesn’t make it normal; it just makes it common. And when it suddenly starts happening a lot when it didn’t before, it’s abnormally common.

I appreciate the fact checkers because they simplify things: if they say something is true, I know that it isn't; and if they say it isn't, then I know that it is.

Shrugging our shoulders and saying, “It’s not up to me. People above me and smarter than me make the decisions,” is an abdication of ethical and intellectual responsibility. When individuals do this, tyrants rule. When individuals stand up for truth, goodness prevails.

Truth has power. It doesn’t buy media or politicians, or push cheap products on consumers. But it speaks goodness, life, light, freedom, and it always, eventually, prevails.

You are not a follower. You are not a leader's acolyte. Nor are you a grown-up child, to be scolded by those who say they are your rulers. You are a human being, born to be and live free.

The words of politicians and the news media are clear examples that something does not need to make sense or follow reason to be promoted as truth. Genuine truth generally takes serious seeking to find. And it requires asking a lot of questions that politicians discourage and the media avoids.

A healthy forest consists of many individual trees and plants, none of which is considered more important, necessary, essential, or privileged than the rest. Nature has no “elites.”

Those who put Freedom between quote marks are A) trolls, B) bought & paid “influencers,” or C) people who watch and believe the “news.” Freedom. No quotes.

When you live long enough, you see patterns emerging in the stories you’re told. And you’re less likely to believe them the second or third or fourth or fifth time as you were the first.

A great way to keep a story going, whether it’s true or not, is to provide endless and daily “updates.” This is priority one for “news” and social media: endless fear, anxiety, and calls to compliance. Turn off the noise.

Just for one day, give yourself the gift of peace. Turn off the “news,” and go do anything else, from weeding the garden to simply staring at the sky. Refresh your soul.

Myths aren’t just stories of gods and goddesses bound up in a book. Myths are created everyday for us by the news, the government, and corporations. In the 21st century, myths are propaganda, masquerading as truth.

Do something today, even if it’s a work day, that will make you feel satisfied and good for having done it. It won’t be looking at a screen. It will be something real, like creating something.

To survive in American society you must be enough of a cynic to doubt all words of “authorities,” yet enough of a child to believe that goodness and magical and wonderment exist (definitely unconnected with the authorities).

The system isn’t broken: it’s working perfectly, the way it was set up to work. It wasn’t set up by regular, normal, ordinary, working people. Nor is it run by them.

Tyranny exists when an elite group of financially and politically powerful people impose rules upon humanity that they have no intention of living under themselves.

The less time you spend following and absorbing the “news,” the more time you have to develop real and tangible skills that help you and your family live as free people.

By the lake, it was cool in the shadows, warm in the sun, and exceptionally quiet. Morning started slowly, without rush. and there was time to simply think. Quiet and time to think -- a winning combination.

Horses are naturally peaceful. They do not become war horses until they are trained by ambitious men for battle. And then they fight so that those men can profit from the spoils of war.

Spend time with people who value joy, seek truth, and treasure freedom. Avoid the fearmongers – rabbity humans or just screen faces reading from a teleprompter – who sap strength and energy.

Live life at your pace, with freedom. If you love country roads, then don't let anyone (especially "experts") say that you should, ought, and must stay on the freeway.

If you talk about something enough, if you have enough reach, and if those listening are credulous enough to believe you, you can make something that doesn’t exist seem real. Happens every day.

It’s your body: you’ve got one of them. In the same way, it’s your life: you’ve got one of them. Celebrate and nurture the complexity and beauty of what you have. Don’t let others dictate what’s best for you.

It’s interesting how the bad guys have a “state news agency” but the good guys are supposedly free from any government influence. The difference between how and what each reports is difficult to see.

There is life outside of the mass media, social media, meta-fake world, and it is a better life – because it is real. Take a walk, laugh with friends, be with family, read a book, plant a garden.

We change who we are by changing how we think. We change how we think by asking questions and earnestly seeking answers to those questions.

Protocols. Rules. Regulations. Mandates. Laws. We have far more many words to describe restrictions than we do to extol freedom. But for those who listen, one word – freedom – says it all.

Most people are nice, and don’t want to seem disagreeable by questioning what authoritative voices tell them is true. But gullibility and niceness are two different things. It’s okay, and wise, to question.

There were few people on the planet she trusted without reservation or question, and none of them was named “The Science.”

They refused to isolate themselves in a dark room, curtains closed, the only light coming from the TV screen, its voice announcing that all was not well, and wouldn’t be in the foreseeable future. That wasn’t living. So . . . they decided to live.

We are never more alone than when we change who we are in an attempt to earn the approval of those who do not care about us. Contemplative solitude is more liberating than faux friendship.

As she ran her fingers through her hair, she remembered being a child, when her mother lovingly did the same thing. The human touch is normal and healthy. Distancing ourselves through perpetual fear is not.

Money buys you servants, not friends; employees, not family; acquiescence, not loyalty. That which is truly rich and important can’t be bought.

The calling of family is to love and protect one another, and to extend that love outwards. The purpose of the State is to exact obedience from its citizens. And ne’er the twain shall meet.

I've noticed that the people most afraid of the dark are those who watch a lot of TV and movies. Actually, people who are most afraid of anything watch a lot of TV and movies. Don't be afraid of the dark.

There is real life, which is your life, and there is faux life, which is what media, corporations, and government push. The more you fall for the faux, the less you experience the real.

Maybe we should focus less on worshiping certain people and professions as heroes and more on being brave and honest and courageous ourselves.

Free speech means that at some point, somebody will say something that somebody else doesn’t like. But the alternative is a self-appointed committee of the powerful who determine what we can and cannot say.

If you're on this site, it's probably because you paint or take photos, with the idea of selling your artistic creativity to others. I would imagine that a potential goal in your life is to increase these sales, so that what is a pleasurable hobby can turn into a business worth investing time in.

And if you're like me, you've probably received reams of advice from well meaning friends, family members and straight up strangers. I could make a list of some of this advice, entitled something like "10 Top Pieces of Advice People Who Are Not Artists Trying to Sell Their Work Give to Artists Trying to Sell Their Work." Somewhere in that list would be, "Reach out to family members and friends with your art -- show them what you do, and they'll buy it!" As if Mom doesn't know, already, that you do art.

It doesn't take long to move past this well meaning advice. You find that you get very adept at a quick warm smile, a nod, and a "thank you." The "advice" that is more difficult to move past, the type that taps into our insecurities, is from those "business experts" out there -- think of the articles on Linked In with 100k views, entitled along the lines of, "Top Selling Strategies for Small Businesses." (I get regular emails from UPS these days, telling me how a former pro-tennis star turned her dreams into a Big Successful Business, without bothering to mention the financial assets, as well as a household name, that she had to start with. And then there's the former president turned "artist" -- more money and name recognition.)

You can drop down a rabbit hole with these "advice" articles, programs, and books, but before you do so, here's something that has worked for me:

Follow your instincts. Walk on a narrow trail that no one else is on. Give things a try, even if they seem crazy. And this is the big one: Allow yourself to think in a completely, radically different way than you normally do. If an idea seems outlandish, but it intrigues you, try the Just One Week technique: for one week, allow yourself to go there. When you want to say, "That's nuts. That can't possibly work," stop, and don't think that. You don't have to actually DO anything, invest money or change you're schedule -- all you're doing is, for one week, allowing yourself to consider the possibility, follow where it could go, let the pursuit of thought open up more options and ideas.

At the end of the week, you're free to give up the new, radical idea and go back to the old way of thinking. But I'm willing to bet that, after a week of allowing yourself freedom of wild thought, you won't go back to where you started. Somehow, in some way, you'll have taken another step along the narrow path.

And . . . in that week while you allow yourself to think a radically different thought, you probably don't want to tell anyone about what you're thinking, because the last thing you need is a piece of Advice from Someone Who Doesn't Sell Art telling you something like, "You're nuts! Try this instead: Ask your friends and family to share the Facebook posts of your art!"

The world of propaganda is one of repetition, whether the product being sold is a new car or a lifestyle change. The essential thing is to keep hammering at the message, in varying formats, until you wear down the listener and viewer's psyche. As people who are inundated with political, medical, and corporate propaganda, we are wise to be aware of this primary means of getting us to believe the advertisers' message.

(Fear is another tool of propaganda -- unsettling us so that we can't reason effectively. Combine fear with constant repetition and you have a populace that reacts, as opposes to rationalizes. Think back over the "news" you've heard in the last 25 years, and ask yourself, "How much of the message is fear? And how much of that fear message is constantly repeated?")

It's important to recognize that, regardless of how many times a message is repeated, this does not increase its validity or truth. Indeed, the more we hear a message, the more we should question its veracity, since obvious facts, such as, "The grass is green," or, "Cookies are sweet," don't have to be thrown at us in political speeches and documentaries and scientific pronouncements and Twitter blurbs. And they most certainly don't require carrot or stick.

One subtle, and not-so-subtle, message we receive is that the digital world is a wonderful, completely equal alternative to face to face, physical interaction. We've heard this a lot over the last 18 months and counting as we're told that we need to shut ourselves in our dark rooms, where it's safe, and interact with our friends and families via Zoom, or face time on the phone, or text, or email. "Hold up the Christmas present as you're opening it, honey, so I can see it!"

It's not the same. And putting a smile on it and insisting that it is doesn't belie the lie -- there is no substitute, no replacement, no digital equivalent to hugging someone, shaking hands, being in the same room and looking at one another's faces as we talk, physically interacting. Anyone who has lived far from a loved one for a long time would, in a heartbeat, drop the phone for the real thing.

The artwork, Out Sailing, celebrates this reality of reality -- this friendship and interaction of real people with one another. At the end of the day, when each man thinks over the experience, he will remember the talking, the laughing, the teasing and joking, the being together on a warm sunny day, out in the water where the air feels free.

The digital world has its place, and we as people who wish to live free must keep it in its place. It's fast, convenient, and enables us to keep in touch with people who are physically distanced from us. But it is not a substitute for real, genuine, NORMAL, face to face physical interaction, and any message that it is so is . . . propaganda.

Every so often I meet someone who tells me, "I don't watch TV. I don't even own a TV," and I think, "Hurray! Another member of the Thinking Club."

And then they add, "But I LOVE the new series from Netflix/Amazon/StreamOfUnconciousness. I watch it on my phone every week."

Oh. Okay, so it's not a TV per se, the big metal and glass box (it used to be called an Idiot Box) that monopolized a large corner of the living room, eclipsing other furniture, like bookshelves. Now, it's a big screen taking up a section of the wall, eclipsing other items, like artwork. Or it's the phone, streaming, when it isn't listening. Or a notebook (which, incidentally, used to be a pad of paper, upon which people wrote their thoughts, made lists, or drafted plans of something they were making).

Regardless of the screen of choice, the end result looks the same: digital matter, purportedly representing reality of some sort, that captures our time, glazed eyes, fractured attention, and spirit. While we're watching, we're not thinking, and if you don't believe me, try it some time. The next time the "news" is on, or a favorite show, see how actively you are interacting with it. Do you stop, as when you're reading a book, and say, "Wait a minute! That's not what you said before"? Of course not; the content keeps streaming, and it takes you along with the current.

Okay, so after the show is over, and the 8 o'clock noose update, and the series of commercials, and the beginning of the next show which you'll just catch a couple minutes of, and a break for some public service announcement, and the 9 o'clock update -- do you turn it off, sit back on the sofa, close your eyes, and deeply, deeply think about what you've just heard, the images you've seen, the barrage of messages aimed at you? Do you say, "What was it the newscaster said -- those numbers . . . how did they get those numbers? And who was the expert they were interviewing? Why, if this is supposed to be a balanced, factual show, don't they bring in someone who disagrees with the expert? Are there no dissenting voices?" And that's just if you watched the news, which is supposed to contain more intellectual content than a reality show.

Thinking, unlike mentally ingesting images and dialogue from a screen, is a highly creative, highly concentrating process: you can't passively do it. You must actively engage your mind, ask questions, poke around for answers the same way your tongue prods at a chipped tooth. Of all people who should be seriously, intensely, constantly thinking, it is artists -- because we are the ones who are supposed to be looking at the world around us, exploring it, interpreting it through our brushes and canvas.

The benefits of thinking cannot be overrated, in the same way the benefits of watching TV cannot be underrated enough. The one is energizing. The other drains the heart, mind, and soul of all vitality.

A major focus of what I paint is peace -- calm, tranquility, stillness, quiet, and serenity. One of my goals is to invite people into such places so that they can think, breathe, rest, slow down, and find goodness and joy.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to walk outside their door and step onto actual ground, be surrounded by trees, "listen" to the silence -- but we all need this. We all need escape from the noise and ugliness of what we call modern civilization: phones that track our every move; TV announcers who drone into our psyche; crowded parking lots without a space for our car; sirens; nosy neighbors who gleefully and anonymously report what they consider to be our infractions; inane YouTube videos; traffic; the unending pressure from Corporate Culture and political propaganda to be "original" by copying someone else, to fit in, to subordinate who we actually are to what they say we should be.

We need time and space to think -- and think deeply. To question everything we've ever been told and are constantly being told. To figure out who we really are, what kind of person we'd like to be, and how to get there without excessive interference from The Authorities.

In places like Mountain Refuge, there is in this silence, this space, this sky that isn't falling but staying up in the heavens (free from the latest billionaire thrusting through it, please God) where it belongs, the calmness and quiet that our hearts and minds need to do this serious thinking. If you can find a place like this, away from "modern" civilization, then do whatever you can to get out in it. If you can't -- if you're stuck in the city and surrounded by noise -- turn off as much of that noise as you can. Brew a cup of tea. Sit in a chair. Find a painting that has an image of peaceful tranquility on it and just let yourself go there.

It is right, and normal, and healthy, and good to get away from the noise, to a place where fear isn't promoted -- marketed, actually -- as a normal thing. Escape the Abnormal.

I don't know if you've noticed a pattern here, but it's been going on long enough that it's time to point it out.

In the state where I live, where the governor took over emergency powers some 90 weeks ago and has been running the Union of Social-Mediasized Citizens' Republic to his satisfaction without any interference from legislators, or more importantly, ordinary people, we're constantly told to wait. It started with, "Two weeks to flatten the curve!" and progressed to, "Two more weeks to flatten the curve!" then, "A few months to get a hold on this deadly threat," to "More months to completely obliterate 'cases,'" to, "Everybody needs to do whatever I say however I say it because I'm tremendously important and I believe in SCIENCE and I trust it and you should too and the best way to do that is Follow My Orders!"

Well, perhaps he didn't say it precisely like that, but the tone is spot on.

The essential thing, though, is this: we are to put our lives on hold. Indefinitely. Remember, "No Christmas!" last year? That wasn't so bad; why not give it another skip this year? And birthdays -- they're not that essential, really. Neither is your job, essential that is. Come to think of it, neither are friends, family, human interaction -- guys, it's just too dangerous. Better to stay inside; lower the shades; dim the lights to save electricity, because there's plenty of light coming from the TV screen. And that's what we need to be doing: watching TV. Staying up on the "news." Scrolling through our phones. Listening to the authorities. Following the advice of the experts. And not, ever, ever, asking questions.

And waiting. Inside, in the dark. Until they tell us it's safe to come outside again. Masked, of course, because it's never really safe.

That's not living. That's not even surviving. That's allowing not only our bodies, but our minds to be locked up in a prison of fear.

I don't know if you own a boat. I don't, but that doesn't stop me from painting them. And it doesn't stop me from floating my boat, in the water, as I sail through the journey of life as a free thinking, free living person who has family to love (and hold, and hug), paintings to create, and dreams to fulfill.

One of my daughters (I hesitate to say, "the middle child," because she dislikes that appellation) mentioned a mainstream media statement she ran into the other day:

"They said that ordinary people shouldn't do their own research, but just leave this up to the experts. It went so far as to imply that it's dangerous to ask questions."

This would be laughable if it weren't unfortunately serious, and one wonders why sensible people don't rise up and say, "Who ARE these androids pontificating this verbal fecal matter?" Well, they're the same disengaged specimens of humanity telling us not to dare even converse with one another, because the spittle and mucus and droplets emitting from our faces -- plastered over by three or four or five layers of manufactured paper product -- will contaminate others with some viral pestilence of frightening, and apparently never ending, proportions. (When you get a chance, look up the Greek alphabet; there are a lot of letters yet to go through.)

If we stop and think for a moment -- something we should do on a regular basis -- commonsense tells us that conversing with one another, rather than passing on germs, passes on thoughts and questions, doubts and ideas, observations and the encouragement to investigate. And these are not good things in a society that is Trickle Down Ruled, with the voices from above -- "The Experts" -- informing the people trickled upon what to believe, how to behave, what to wear, where to go, what to think. It's bad enough when they're advertising some cheap plastic product that no one needs, but when they delve into our spirituality, health, human dignity, lifestyle, private thoughts, and, well, next breath, then the repercussions of not asking questions become very serious, very quickly.

You don't have to be an expert to ask questions. After all, in the timelessly apt Hans Christian Andersen's story, The Emperor's New Clothes, it was a child who saw through the facade. The adults were so concerned about what those around them thought, that they were afraid to question anything at all.

I love the ocean because it is untameable. That's not to say that someday, some billionaire financier won't look for a way to box it in, gate it off, drain the resources for profit, all for the loudly proclaimed sake of improving people's lives and building the planet back better.

But for now, the ocean, for the most part, takes up a huge portion of the planet, and has absolutely no need or compulsion to ask permission of the billionaires, the world governments, and the many many agencies of two to four (generally three) letters in their names to flow over the globe, to exist, to be. It has freedom of choice to be the ocean, act like the ocean, and exist as the ocean.

But what about us? What about each human being on the planet, all supposedly equal and deserving of dignity, humanity, compassion, the right to earn a living, the right to eat, to stay warm and clothed and safe from marauders? What freedom of choice do we actually have? (And by the way, do we need a piece of paper to inform us that we are equals, to bestow that equality upon us as governmental decree, or are we really, truly, intrinsically BORN as equals of each other? If the latter, then why do we suffer kings?)

Due to the aggressive and harassing voice of the mainstream media, the word choice has become solely associated with abortion, or not. As recent and disturbing coercive governmental edicts show these days, My Body My Choice does not mean you have a general and all encompassing choice to refuse "medical" "treatment" "options," but rather, may choose one of two or three concoctions hastily put together by profit-making pharmaceutical companies, or, if you're disobedient, uncaring, selfish, and stupid, may "choose" to do what you're told or lose your job. Or be locked in your home. Or escorted to a re-education camp. The "choices" for choosing to say No to Drugs get increasingly draconian, and one wonders, how far will people -- normally good, decent people who would never kick a stray dog -- let this travesty of illogic, meanness, unscientific and irrational non-thought, and totalitarianism go on?

We do have a choice, one that supersedes government, emperors, and kings: We can choose to do good. We can choose to treat others with dignity. We can choose to question what we're told. We can choose to NOT call an idiot someone with whom we disagree. We can choose to put the TV in the garbage can. We can choose to listen to dissenting voices. We can choose to say, "What are you Rulers doing? How is it you are separating a section of people from another, and saying it is fine to treat them as sub-humans? And what right do you have to make these decisions?"

We can choose to live free.

Years ago, someone who was not a friend and whom we had no interest in inviting into our home stood outside the gate while our dog -- who apparently knew our feelings -- kept them there. Hearing the ruckus, we went outside, quickly addressed the matter at hand, and sent the person on his way. Everything was done politely, but the point was made: our home is a refuge, and we do not open it to strangers who are not interested in being friends.

Even in today's strange society, this way of thinking makes sense to most. I mean, who wants their boss borrowing their hair brush, or some government official poking through the bookshelves, commenting upon our reading tastes?

And yet, people invite strangers into their homes all the time. If you own a TV and watch the news, or if you scroll through the phone and follow the latest, greatest updates on what experts say about your health, or if you willingly answer all the fun fun quizzes on social media, you're letting strangers into your home. And they dominate the conversation: when you comment to the face on the screen that they're lying, do they stop in surprise and say, "Oh, I'm sorry. Tell me your side of the story"?

Didn't think so.

Our personal choice is to not own a TV and to spend more time reading books than scrolling through our phones. That sounds radical to many. But here's the thing to think about: if, at the end of the day of watching shows and listening to the news and checking up on our Influencer of choice and reading the latest mandate from our various emperors we feel tired, discouraged, helpless, hopeless, overwhelmed, inert, fearful, and anxious, what have we gained by these digital relationships?

When their words and attitudes exert a strong influence on how we think, feel, and believe, then they have invaded our privacy. And we have invited them to do so.

So, one simple way to protect your privacy is to let the dog out, and keep the strangers at the gate. Don't invite them in.

Too many of us have the idea that truth is something you're TOLD -- either by the preacher in the pulpit, the politician behind the podium, the doctor in the white coat, or the handsome/beautiful face floating above the important looking news desk on the TV or phone screen. Charts and graphs and dramatic video in the background add to the illusion that truth is something only the experts have a handle on.

But truth is something you find. Anyone who has ever seriously looked for something -- be it the phone you put down in the living room (you think), your sunglasses, the car keys -- knows that an essential process to finding what you're looking for is asking questions: "Has anyone seen my black shoes?" "WHERE is my wallet?" Even if there is no one around to ask, we run a silent conversation within ourselves: "I know I had it when I got out of the car. What did I do then?"

So, if we ask questions on matters as mild as our missing car keys or who ate the last piece of cake, surely we should ask questions about the really, really significant elements of our lives: "Are all people equal? If this is so, then why do some people command and rule over the lives of others?" or, "Is my power as a 'citizen" truly limited to casting a vote every few years and writing letters to the rulers?"

Or this one: "Why am I put down when I ask questions?"

Truth remains hidden when our eyes, our minds, and our mouths, remain closed. Ask questions, lots of them, and when you are scolded for doing so, ask, "Why?"

If you're lucky, you've met a person like this -- someone so confident in themselves that they are impervious to peer pressure which, today, includes public shaming by mainstream media, politicians, medicos, "experts," and the many, many trolls -- and their human acolytes -- on social media.

The strong person's confidence isn't the false substitute propounded by business and leadership seminars. You know what I mean -- the pep talks that encourage us to act like we know what we're doing when we don't, to project a pseudo-competence in place of real knowledge, skill, and ability. Anyone who has worked under an insecure middle manager knows what this looks like.

No, the person confident in themselves is one who questions everything, especially authority, and does not accept "facts" simply because they are streamed on a screen by someone wearing a tailored suit or a white lab coat. The confident person knows that he or she has been given an intellect and is expected to use it, and he or she is wary when there is pressure to accept a universal theory encompassing one dogma, one belief, one way of looking at things, one acceptable means of behaving. They are especially wary when people are attacked for thinking differently. Their inner cynic tells them that this is not good.

These people stand out, because they don't fit in. If you're lucky, you know someone like this. If you're truly looking for truth, you'll strive to BE someone like this.

Yellow journalism is a term coined in the late 19th century to describe sensationalism: news that isn't really news, but focuses on screaming headlines, generally designed to promote and promulgate fear. News magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer led the way in this original fake news effort with multi-colored front page headlines targeting scandal or crime.

It had little to do with actual news because its purpose was to drive readership. The headline was the thing -- and the technique worked. Over and over people fell for the ploy, although after the first two or three or four or five or six times they should have begun to suspect that the "news," wasn't really news. It was propaganda. But the headlines were compelling, and people kept buying papers. And those papers affected the way people thought and believed.

I see the same thing going on today. Looking in various social media "news feeds," I feel as if I were standing in the grocery line, next to a rack of what used to be called women's magazines, complete with Dr. Umph's latest fat-busting techniques side by side with the best recipe for chocolate cake. It's variations of the same thing, every week -- Dr. Umph, the chocolate cake recipe, and the latest thing to be afraid of (the most notable of which has put us in panic mode for the last year and a half and counting). A major element of both yellow journalism and propaganda (they go hand in hand) is repetition.

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Alpha. Beta. Gamma. Delta. Epsilon. Lamda.

Yellow is a great color in golden fields and stunning sunsets. As an artist, I enjoy the vibrancy and richness it gives to paintings.

It is patently dishonest, however, in journalism. But, given that 90% of U.S. media is owned by six behemoth corporations, is it surprising?

There is a disturbing movement, pushed by politicians, "experts," and mass media, but willingly embraced by too many people who should know better, to insist that people need to believe the same thing. Now at times, it seems like they do. But when you find individuals who don't own a TV, or who are not slaves to their cell phones, you find a refreshing independence of thought.

And it is these people -- the ones who not only question what they're told but dare, actually DARE to disagree -- that mainstream media and governing rulers find so execrable. "We'll never get back to normal until you obey!"

And the people who watch too much TV and spend too much time on their cell phones pick up the chant. "We'll never get back to normal until you obey! You're the problem!" It doesn't matter what the situation is; it could be a war that the rulers need the people to sacrifice their lives for, or a tax, or an acceptance of a decree. The point is that the rulers want it, and through constant repetition and harassment of the people -- with a liberal sprinkling of fear -- they convince the majority of the populace that THIS. MUST. BE. SO., and those who disagree are stupid/evil/science deniers/difficult/dangerous/odious. (They don't use the word disobedient, but with great accuracy, they could.)

At this point, we need to remember the wise and timeless adage, Live and Let Live, which is a philosophical way of saying, "Please mind your own business."

The idea is that we do not impose our fears and beliefs upon others, and they will not impose them on us. It's a bit scary living this way when people are fearful, because it's not "safe" to allow thousands, millions of people to think for themselves and act in a way that they see is just and right and true, but it's even scarier, really, to allow a very few to make this decision for the rest of us.

Years ago, some friends told us about a ram that was a temporary guest on their property. The ewes instantly took to him, and followed him everywhere.

This didn't surprise our friends, because it's classic herd mentality -- sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them, whether or not it's a good idea. The ram was big and strong and bold, and though he was a guest, he took on the mantle of lead sheep, and the ewes obediently followed.

In this case, it wasn't a particularly good idea. The ram, unfamiliar with the landscape, walked on a small footbridge, without railings, that crossed a stream on the property. It was night; the ram couldn't see; and somehow he fell over the edge of the bridge into the water. The ewes followed.

It's best, if we insist upon following a leader, that we choose one who can see where he's going.

But it's even better to rely upon our own acumen, ability to question, and innate intelligence, as opposed to following the leader.

We can learn a lot from Nature.

She's extremely creative, doesn't care about trends, isn't impressed by the voice of authority, and does what she does every day, all year round. Humans try to infringe upon her space, but ultimately, she outwits them.

She doesn't own a phone. She doesn't watch TV. And she is immune to peer pressure and propaganda. Normal, for her, is simply being what she is and doing what she does.

She's an artist, and she creates art.

In the same way that Nature is not waiting around for permission from the authorities to be who she is and do what she does, maybe we could do the same.

Otherwise, we're just sitting around waiting for the authorities to tell us when we can do what they say we can do, and be who they say we can be.

She practiced what she called persistent resistance.

This was the art of following her own path -- as strange is it may look to others -- based upon her wisdom, experience, and commonsense. She was, after all, an adult, one who read a lot, questioned everything, and was healthily cynical.

The alternative, one that she found repulsive, was to slavishly follow the words of others, who were parroting the words of others, who were parroting the words of self-imposed leaders and celebrity idols: "Listen to the experts." "Don't stand out." "Obey authority." "Don't question your betters." "Do what you're told." "Who do you think you are, to go against the flow?"

She'd first learned persistent resistance in the school system, when she was thrown into a room of others, many of whom were determined to place her in the appropriate slot in the schoolchild hierarchy. She wasn't a chicken, and didn't choose to be part of a flock.

Sometimes, many times, she felt alone, distanced from what society called acceptable. But she kept walking, continued her journey of life, and marveled at the places she went.

It was all part of persistent resistance.

I’m sure you’ve heard it: “Pinterest is THE place to market your work! People buy products based upon a pin they’ve seen.”

Perhaps this is true; perhaps this isn’t; like many statements to do with marketing it contains an element of truth as well as that of exaggeration. There is, however, one thing to consider: it’s desirable to have your pins pinned by someone other than you.

After all, that’s why we strive to be on group boards, isn’t it? We want our pins to be someplace where they can gain greater exposure, and be seen by more people. A major factor of group boards is some sort of group sharing, and many have rules that, if you are going to pin there, you reciprocate by sharing the pins of others.

At Fine Art America, there are a number of mutual promotion Pinterest discussions, and they essentially work like this (I’m assuming that you have a basic acquaintance with Pinterest, know how to pin a pin, and have a board or boards where you can pin other people’s pins):

Go to the group’s discussion page that has to do with Pinterest Sharing. As an example, here is the Pinterest Pin 5 Discussion in the Comment for Comment Group (I'm sorry -- I can't appear to make the links live):

https://fineartamerica.com/groups/comment-for-comment--c-f-c.html?showmessage=true&messageid=3921074

Scroll down to the bottom where it says Post Reply/Message. In another window, go to your Pinterest page and grab a link to the Pin you want other artists to promote. For example, here’s one of mine:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/321374123409064447/

Paste your pin link in the Post Reply/Message section in the Pinterest Pin 5 Discussion and hit Post Reply. This will make your link live so that the artists following you in the discussion can see it.

Now, go to the five links before yours, open them (they should lead to Pinterest links; you can open mine, above, to see what this will look like), and save each one to one of your boards. Many artists create a special board for these links, along the lines of, “Pins from other artists,” or “Fine Art America artists.” I personally save pins to several of my boards, including “Art in your life,” “Photography,” and “Household items.” (Note: do NOT save other artist pins to group boards to which you belong unless you own the group or have permission to do so.)

The five artists following you on the thread will pin your pin onto one of their boards.

Each Pinterest mutual sharing thread has different minimums of pins they ask you to share, and you are always free to exceed the minimum. At the top of each discussion thread is an explanation of how it works, written by the person who developed the thread. Take time to read each one of these to become familiar with their unique requirements.

Here are the various Pinterest mutual sharing groups I presently know of on Fine Art America (if you know of or discover others, please write the link in the comments.)

1) Pinterest Pin Five in Comment for Comment. The link is above. This discussion invites you to come back as often as you like as long as there are five pins between your pins.

2) Pinterest Repin Game in the Art District Group:
https://fineartamerica.com/groups/art-district.html?showmessage=true&messageid=4591709
This discussion is open for a new pin every 24 hours, with your pinning all pins that have been posted in a 24-hour period prior to your pin entry.

3) Pin me! In the Beauty in Art Group:
https://fineartamerica.com/groups/beauty-in-art--no-photography.html?showmessage=true&messageid=4580887
In this discussion, you pin the two pins prior to yours.

4) Share the Pinterest Love in Travel Art:
https://fineartamerica.com/groups/1-travel-art.html?showmessage=true&messageid=3698454
In this discussion, you pin the two pins prior to yours.

5) Primarily Pinning in FAA Pixels All Stars:
https://fineartamerica.com/groups/f-a-a--pixels-all-stars--2-submissions-per-week-maximum.html?showmessage=true&messageid=3693861
In this discussion, you pin the two pins prior to yours.

6) Share the Pinterest Love RePin Thread on the general Discussions page:
https://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=3970864
In this discussion, you pin the three pins prior to yours.

If you participate in more than one group, it’s wise to provide different pin links, as many of the same people participate in several threads. You don’t want them to re-pin the same pin, in the same place.

If you know of an active Pinterest sharing group on FAA that is not on this list, please share it in the comment section so that more people may discover it.

Next Time: Marketing Opportunities on Fine Art America: Twitter, Part I

If you haven’t read the first installment of this short series, it is
Marketing Opportunities on Fine Art America
https://fineartamerica.com/blogs/marketing-opportunities-on-fine-art-america.html

Marketing art is not easy, fast, quick, or predictable. If it were any of those things, artists as a whole would earn incomes like senators or stock brokers.

If you’ve been on Fine Art America for any length of time, you’ve probably run into the disgruntled artist who announces they are leaving the place because they haven’t made any sales. The general response to them ranges from sympathetic to brutal, with a composite message looking along the lines of,

“Quit whining. You’ve got to market yourself. Get out there on social media. Start a blog. Get your name in a magazine. Hand out business cards.”

It’s true you have to market yourself. It’s also true that this is extremely difficult, especially for regular, ordinary people who don’t have the cash flow of an international corporation. So, as regular, ordinary people, we have to get creative.

And the good news is, on Fine Art America there are a number of opportunities – through the discussions in various groups – to market your art. What stops a lot of artists is that these opportunities are mutual – meaning that, while other artists will share your work on their social media sites, you are expected to do the same for them.

“I don’t want to sell somebody else’s art; I want to sell my own,” is the knee-jerk response.

That’s too bad, because mutual promotion can be a good thing, with individual artists being able to “tap into” a larger base of social media contacts than what they could do on their own. The “payment” for this added exposure, instead of being money for an ad, is promoting another artist. (Remember, at the same time, another artist is promoting you.)

I’m a relative newbie on Fine Art America, having recently celebrated my 2-year anniversary. In that time, I have participated in a number of mutual promotion opportunities available through Fine Art America, and I am pleased with the results. Sales have been good, and my goal is to make them constantly better.

In this short series of upcoming blog articles, I’d like to share with you the various mutual promotion groups I’ve found, in the hopes that you, too, will consider joining them. After all, the more people who participate, the greater the pool of potential people we all can reach.

Next Time: Marketing Opportunities on Fine Art America: Pinterest

I don't watch TV, but even from under my rock and behind my easel it's hard not to miss that country is in -- which is great, because I live in the country myself and know that it's called beautiful for a reason.

What makes me sad about the country craze is the push by TV, talk show, magazine and other "down-home" celebrities to force people into a fantasy, sanitized version of "country living" that has everything to do with pressure to make the house look like something on the TV set, and not a home that people actually want to live in. Real country homes look like people live in them -- not everything matches; there's something old and something blue and something borrowed in them; and the items that are there are -- or should be -- meaningful to the people who own them.

As long as a person's major source of country decor is a TV show, blog, or magazine, then what they get won't be a home, but rather a potential showcase that's constantly in transition, and will never reach completion because the goal behind home country decor shows is to keep selling products.

"But you sell a product," people might object. "You sell art." That I do -- and the art I create, paint, and sell goes far beyond mason jars that -- in a secondhand store actually cost under a dollar, but from the country design guru, go for much more than that. If you're going to invest in anything to create the sense and beauty of country, then go for the art, because it not only adorns the wall, it takes you, the viewer, out of the room and into the landscape.

The art world is like any other industry, and it is filled with myths. One of the most prevailing of these, believed by both artists and people who are not artists, is that extremely wealthy people know good art when they see it, and what they buy is always a good investment. This, it is assumed, is the major reason to purchase art: as an investment.

After all, in order to buy an iconic work like The Scream, the famed 1895 pastel by Edvard Munch, one obviously much be richer than the normal person, since at the latest auction the work auctioned off for $119.9 million. And although the average person, upon seeing the drawing, would think, "That drawing looks like it was done by a 10-year-old," he or she is reluctant to say this aloud because somebody just spent $119.9 million on it -- and anyone who has that much money must be smart, right? Because in our culture, another of our myths is that outrageously wealthy people are that way because they are smarter, kinder, better, and simply superior to others. (This is a pretty good distillation of the plot of the book, Atlas Shrugged, used as a game plan by many that regular, ordinary people would term "elite.)

But an item's intrinsic -- natural, essential -- value is frequently at variance with what the market assesses it to be worth, and this is patently obvious in the art world. As the old saying goes, "It's worth what a person is willing to pay for it." For a brief time in the 17th century, people were willing to pay as much for a tulip bulb as they would for a house. Crazy, you say? How is that any different from five bidders driving the final price up to $119.9 million for a drawing that looks like it was done by a 10-year-old, when there are ample artworks, by actual 10-year-olds, available for much less? What, exactly, is the intrinsic value of The Scream?

And herein we find the reason why ordinary, regular people have the potential to be better art buyers than the fabulously rich: when they buy an artwork -- whether it's a print, an original painting, or an image on a coffee cup -- for no other reason than because they like it, and the image speaks to their heart and soul, then they are purchasing art with their mind, and not their sense of cunning that they are a savvy investor.

And when they take that artwork and place it, not in a vault or safe, but on their walls where they see and enjoy it every day, then they are honoring the skill, ability, soul, and hard work of the artist.

Of course, people who buy artwork for no other reason than that they like it are frequently told, by the elitists of the art industry, that they are naive, unsophisticated, and foolish, But it's not an impossible conclusion to draw that the person who treasures the artwork because of its appeal to the heart and soul, understands much more about art than the one who treats it as nothing more than an investment.