An Interview, A Giveaway and Energy Art

"Second Chakra-Expansion" by primalpainter

This is a digital energy art image of my painting of the second chakra called "Healing the Hurt".  I only used one filter to alter it in Gimp as opposed to a gajillion filters like I usually do.  I needed this today due to unforeseen circumstances. I think the time is ripe to do my fourth chakra painting, the dreaded heart chakra. 

For those who don't know what a chakra is, here's a good explanation taken from the blog Kundalini Yoga and Chakra Balancing:

A chakra is defined as a wheel, or vortex of energy. There are seven primary chakras that flow through a human’s energetic system. The chakras have been called “windows to the soul” this is because they provide humans with subtle connections into soul consciousness. It is through the seven energy centers that vitality pulses throughout our system energizing many of our physical, emotional and mental states.

By removing blockages within our chakras we are able to remove blockages within our lives and can discover our true self, and purpose in life and in that discovery live to our fullest expression and potential.

"Second Chakra-Movement" by primalpainter

Now for some exciting news! Melinda from Simply Smitten,  a person I greatly admire, and an Etsy, Artfire and Blogger Extraordinaire did a feature post about me on her blog yesterday!  I was so stoked about it, she did a fantastic job!  She could be a professional interviewer, she asked just the right questions that really made me think and clarify to myself in writing just what exactly it is that I'm doing with my artwork. 

Be sure and check out her blog, Inspiration Earth -  A Journey of Simplicity.  While you're at it, if you're into earth friendly products such as body scrubs, hand sanitizers, lip balms, cleaning products, insect repellents, air fresheners and cool personalized clipboards and more, check out her shops on Etsy and Artfire.

Sometimes, my ideas bounce around in my head like popping popcorn, and writing them down in a coherent way can really help to streamline the goal.  It's something I need to remember to do for myself periodically. 

Paramahansa Yogananda said something along the lines that there are several levels to creating your own reality.  The first it to think it, the second is to write it down, the third is to speak it out loud, and the fourth is to take action.   I would add that it's also important to "feel" it, feel the emotions that go along with a strong visualization of your ideal life. (This wasn't my original thought, I heard it somewhere).  So thank you, Melinda, you prompted me to get things into stage two!

Another thing I wanted to mention today is Simply Smitten's daughter Forest Faery, is having a giveaway on her blog Dreams of Fae.  I hadn't really thought about giveaways before, but  Forest Faery is an inspiration to me despite her young age.  She's giving away a free 5 x 7 print of one her beautiful photos, coupons for both of her Etsy and Artfire shops, an interview on her blog and two friendship bracelets.  What a haul!  Be sure to check it out!

Well, I have things to do today...it's cold, I still have a migraine, so I'm thinking warm bed and my Stephen King book.  Important things, verryyy important things. lol  Maybe tomorrow I'll be back to myself....

Have an awesome day!

Laurie

Digital Energy Art "Playful"

"Playful" by primalpainter

This is a close-up photo of my wall sculpture "Renewal" that I manipulated into abstract digital energy art.  It reminds me of those spinny things on sticks that we used to play with when we were kids. What are those things called?  I know it's not "spinny things" but .....Oh yeah, pinwheels!  (Had to ask my boyfriend because his brain isn't as whore-moan addled as mine apparently is....I tell myself it's whore-moans, not age, so let me have my illusion!)

I've been procrastinating putting these prints up for sale on my Etsy and Artfire sites.  My excuse is that I've been researching keywords for the titles and trying to define what these images actually are, but of course, that's just my excuse of the day.  Are they Fine Art? Digital Art? Abstract Art? Energy Art?

I don't know if other people research their keywords, but I read somewhere that keywords are really important for your SEO (search engine optimization).  I use the google adwords tool to research various search terms in order to see how many people actually use those words in a google search. 

I've found what appears to be some awesome keywords, for example digital  art gets 165,000 searches a month which sounds great.  But when you google digital art there's almost 55 million results, which means my listing would be on page what? 40 million?  Geeze, somehow I don't think people are going to go past page three or maybe five, let alone page 40 million!  Soooo........don't know, don't know......   Even Energy Art which would be very specialized, niche oriented and gets 5,400 searches every month has the whopping 23 million results. What the.....?! Really? 

The ideal scenario is fairly high search numbers, say 9,000 searches per month, and less than 100,000 results.  A person might actually have a chance of getting on the first couple of pages with those odds assuming they maximize their keywords in the right places in their listing.

Oh blah, blah, blah....  I hate all this mumbo jumbo technical crapola of selling on the internet.  How about a different version of "Playful" to recapture my wandering mind.

"Playful Daydream"

I actually think I like this one better than the first one.  Good Gawd, what's happening to me?! Since when do I like something that doesn't require sunglasses to protect my eyes from it's loud, in your face colors?

How about this one.......

"Playful Romance"

Hmmm, interesting....I like the colors......and I used to be way into diagonals but now?  Not so sure anymore....Wow, I really am changing...maybe just for the time being, we'll see.....  That's the thing about this digital energy art, it seems to reflect my energy flow of the moment.

Well, I'm off to nurse this brutal migraine I've had for a couple of days.  First, let's try a little humor medicine, see if that works on migraines:

LOLOLOL, why WHY do I find that so hilarious?  Poor kid.....poor, silly, freakin' hilarious stupid kid.  I'm starting to think I'm a little twisted in the humor department......

And, it didn't help the migraine physically but a good laugh is always good mentally, even if it's for the twisted reasons of "habenero induced silly boy agony".  Bad girl, Laurie, BAD!!

Later,

Laurie

Vibes of Spring

"Growth" by primalpainter

This is a shot I took yesterday of a blossom on my almond tree.  I was going to leave it "normal", but I just can't seem to resist twisting and warping and spiraling it into abstract energy art.  It's pretty cool, I guess, but I still like the more psychedelic abstract images with wild colors better.  It's starting to become clear to me that not everyone shares my taste in wild, loud visuals..lol  Anyway, this is the best I can do at keeping it conservative at this point.

I've been into bold wild colors since junior high at least.  When I was younger than that, I had posters of horses on my walls (we had 12 horses), then I discovered the wonderful world of blacklight posters, blacklights, and other trippy special effect lighting.  Now keep in mind, this was way before I even knew what the word trippy actually implied, so apparently my visual tastes are just my natural state.

"Gentle Touch of Angels"

This one is a shot of a pear tree blossom.  It's kind of pretty, soft and romantic.  I wonder if my taste will evolve into something more...mature?  Maybe, but I doubt it knowing me, although I might do some softer versions of abstract art just to experiment.

I was reading a blog yesterday where a website guru was analyzing someone's site, and he said that the only thing this person's site would do for him if he were to buy one of their products was to give him some exercise as he carried it to the trash.  I thought that was harsh.  His closing advice was that people need to create products that the public wants, not create products that you like to create.

I can see the wisdom in that for a commercially run business, but what about artists?  It would seem to me that as an artist, it would be important to stay true to yourself and create what appeals to your own visual and emotional taste.  If you don't do that, then wouldn't that be selling out? 

Don't get me wrong, I've certainly done that in the past, and while it was more profitable to design for the public, ultimately it's not fulfilling and even feels fake.  As an artist, I think it's really important to stay true to yourself and find the niche of buyers that have the same kind of taste.  Although, finding those people that have the same taste as me might be like finding a needle in a haystack...I dunno....lol

Well I'm off to enjoy another nice day!  This is my favorite time of year.....watching the flowers grow and bloom, hearing the birds chirping and the frogs chirping....  watching the trees green up.....love it!

Later,

Laurie

Full Moon/Spring Equinox Energy Art

"Full Moon/Spring Equinox 2011"

The image above is my tripped out energy art version of last night's full moon infused with the energy and colors of today's spring equinox.   In an effort to understand my feelings of weirdness for the last couple of days, I discovered an interesting article from the website celestial vision.  The couple who maintain this website are actually from my little town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  Eureka is full of spiritually minded people and is also situated on an energy vortex which seems to attract an abundance of artists, musicians, writers, colorful characters and overall weirdness.

The following is an excerpt from that article:

Rare Cosmic Cocktail Opens Portals for Spiritual Seers By DL Zeta

A unique blend of cosmic alignments over the next few days opens a
portal into new potentials fed by deep streams of renewed creativity and
inspiration. This is truly a portal of new beginnings and powerful
manifestations.

Tonight's (Friday) full moon is closer to the earth than at any time since 1993.
This full moon in Virgo coincides with the spring equinox, which lasts
three days from March 19-21. The spring equinox marks a time of year
when day and night are of equal length, helping us achieve greater balance.

Add to this mix a rare alignment of the Sun and Uranus at the equinox
point of zero degrees Aries. This alignment holds the potential to open
energetic portals for inspiration, creativity, new insights and visions.
It marks a time to listen to deep streams within and work with
intentions powerfully aligned with our spiritual purpose for the highest
good of all.

As we work with our highest intentions, we are able to align with others
on the inner planes to anchor a new time in human consciousness. This
weekend's cosmic alignments will greatly facilitate these efforts.

We Stand at the Threshold of an Unimaginable Future

This is an important moment in time when energies are crystallizing in a
future that is at times difficult to imagine within our present
timeframe. The best way to navigate this time and utilize the
opportunities it offers is to go within your heart and reside in place
of peace, love, and allowing. As you exist in harmony with the flow of
your natural rhythms, you exist in harmony with all the universe.

Standing Strong as Old Structures Crumble

During this time of accelerating earth changes and troubling events
playing out on the world's stage, it is more important than ever to open
to the wisdom and guidance of our higher knowing. As old structures and
forms crumble to make way for the new time on planet Earth, we are able
to stand strong in love and compassion by staying connected through a
telepathic connection to our higher self.

We offer here some steps to strengthening spiritual telepathy. As we
develop a telepathic connection with our higher self, we become
spiritual seers able to reach beyond ourselves into the heart of love no
matter what comes before us. This ability to remain centered in love and
compassion is the source of true healing.

Click HERE to read the whole article which includes her recommended steps for spiritual strengthening.


Now I know there are some who might think this is a bunch of woo woo, and that's cool, but I'm one of those woo woo girls who resonates with this information.  There are things in this universe that are hard to understand with the logical mind, but when the logical mind is bypassed, the intuitive mind can kick in and that's when things start to flow.

The full moon image I created this morning was done in preparation for my fourth chakra painting.  I think the fact that this astrological event is occurring at this point in time is very synchronistic.  Ironically, today is also my 50th birthday which despite being just a number, feels like a turning point of some kind.  I believe that all of this is very relevant to not just the healing of my extremely damaged heart chakra, but is also setting the stage for the next phase of my life. 

Wow, that's some deep sh*t...

Happy Spring Equinox!

Laurie