by james | Aug 23, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone;
Well the dark cloud is lifting…. and after the 8th visit …. the refrigerator finally got repaired… lol… sorry for the delay in our weekly blog… but the good news is we are back and on schedule…. I recently was enjoying the cooler nights of Las Vegas having a cigar and some tequila with an artist friend and we ended up discussing the issue of artist outgrowing their art… Living in Las Vegas I see artists come and go… almost like a running faucet that you can’t turn off… some seem promising and other fizzle out… for me I also relate it to the fact that the artist has outgrown their own art and is frozen …. surprisingly enough when I did some research there are some great artists who have changed their styles and grown as a result of it….Picasso for instance—passed through several stages of change in his work, whether by theme, technique, or style. My belief is that artistic growth is in direct correlation with how you grow as a human being. My personality, my character, and even my taste and style have been constantly changing throughout my entire life. Inevitably, my artistic needs are involved in this ebb and flow of change…. so at the end of the day its about the journey, the experiences we have, the people we meet, and the lessons we learn… so join me, there is still plenty of room on this creative ride….. good seats still available…lol…
Have a great week everyone, new work out shortly…
……………peace
………..james
Heres a pic from 2008 … My early style of abstract and writing… this is titled beautiful crazy… it is 4 ft x 6 ft. 
by james | Aug 2, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone;
As we make our way through this creative lifestyle you soon realize that you’ll be faced with set backs and challenges…. this past week was one of those weeks… First.. the painting I was hoping to have finished ended up as a complete mess.. so I had to push the reset button… then not only my fridge, but my freezer compressor went out… so it was a mad dash to save food… Sean even commented that he thought it was a good thing because apparently in his eyes we had food that was in there when the pilgrims crossed the ocean……lol… then the pool valve for the hot tub went out and we had to have some minor construction to get it repaired and working…. so now we appear to be in a state of clam… and the cloudiness has passed….whew!… with all the distractions this week I was still able to get some time to sew out some great designs with our new machine…… I have included so examples below……. all I can say is that at the end of the day I think its all about the recovery….. with all the ups and down that you can experience, you just need to recover and keep driving on… so heres to hitting the reset button… here’s to starting anew…..here’s to a great new week!… have a great week everyone… talk to you next week….
………..peace
…………………james
pics of recent sew outs…
by james | Jul 26, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone…
Hope your having a great week…. the studio is filled with that fresh paint smell again… hope to have new work out this week… Lately I have been out and about and spending some time looking at others art….always interesting to me is what some of the patrons are saying…. being an abstract artist I have heard it all… from “what the hell is that?”…. to “what was he smoking?”…. to my personal favorite…..”anybody could do that” …….. One of the things I have found is that those making those comments really don’t have an understanding of what they are looking at …..It got me thinking about the different themes of art….maybe they need a little help …for me I think when viewing art you need to understand the theme of it first… doing so will give you a greater appreciation of what you are looking at… an understanding of what the artist was saying…. and assist in developing a connection with the artist….
There are a lot of theories about the different themes of art…and a lot has been written…. for me I agree with most that there are 9 themes of art…
1. Visual Delight and the Arts of Daily Life– Visual Delight: Holds aesthetic appeal and is engaging to the senses. Art for Daily Life: Slice of life may be recognized by functionality. Art for daily life may also attempt to capture a moment of the mundane.
2. Sacred Realm-Often visually communicates abstract concepts dependent on faith on a more concrete way. Works may be used for worship or to contain holy objects…etc.
3. Politics and the Social Order– Political art often has an underlying agenda and uses imagery as a means to an end. Social art lend to class status, economic conditions, gender roles, ethnicity in a given time/place…etc.
4. Stories and Histories– are visual arts that portray the actions that were accomplished by heroes and legends of the past. This includes stories such as the folktales and the lives of the saints that have been in existence and application in all the generations.
5. Looking Outward: The Here and Now- Often time or site specific (time capsule). Allows you to glimpse at a given culture or time period through the object.
6. Looking Inward: The Human Experience-Introspective, has a contemplative and/or empathetic quality.
7. Invention and Fantasy– Pulls from the realm of the imagination. This type of art is not often founded in logic or reality.
8. Art and Nature– May use landscape or rural settings to evoke emotion.
9. Art and Art of the Sacred Realm-Often borrows from commonly used content or from preceding works, e.g. Rembrandt’s sketch of Leonardo’s Last Supper. Can borrow through content, technique, style, medium or theme.
so next time your heading to the galleries and viewing great art… start with what theme the artist is working with…. you’ll be miles ahead and understanding more…… then instead of asking me what I am smoking…. you can join me!!….lol… have a great week everyone… new work out this week….
peace…
…………….james
pic of Studio 7 in the arts district…can you guess what theme?…
by james | Jul 19, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone;
Hope your having a great week… looks like our break of cooler weather is over and we are heading to the famous Vegas Hot weather…. When its too hot to move around I like to spend the time generating support…One of the worst feelings is to be in that creative space, with the creativity oozing out only to realize that you have nothing to work on and your left hanging… From an artist perspective, support is all the materials and supplies needed to help keep the creative process alive… I always like to have at least 2-3 canvas’s ready for when I hit my creative stride.. being in that creative space and having little or no support to work with, is a real buzz-kill…. The difficulty for me is due largely to the size… because they are larger than what I can buy at the stores, I have to make most of my canvas’s……. so when making my canvas’s I start the support process…from choosing of the frame, to stapling the unprimed canvas… then gesso, (couple of coats depending on quality of the canvas)… Some sanding, trimming, and addressing all other misc issues…… then we are ready to get started…. when living the creative lifestyle its very important to have support to work with… For me, I usually designate one day a month and make it a support making day….. Although it seems like a long and difficult process, it is the only way I would go… I think it really adds to the overall concept of being original and one of a kind….. besides that….I just think its very cool……. for me there is nothing more genuine or more sincere than original art……. Now I am off to get the other kind of support……emotional support…….lol…… Have a great week everyone…. talk to you soon
………peace
………………..james
recent studio pic of support drying and hanging on studio wall….
this is the start of my support……how it all gets started……. 
by james | Jul 12, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone;
Hope your having a great week… just trying to get back in the scheme of things since the holidays… Not sure if its the lingering holiday hang over or the 110 + temperatures we are having,….probably both…. If you come by the studio these days you will notice that we have a new addition to the staff at AOJ…. yes.. its our official studio watchdog…Sieglinde and I have owned dogs our entire life, but we are really excited about Madison.. she was a rescue from the Animal Foundation here in Vegas…. Surprisingly she took to everyone quickly and has already put her stamp on the place.. I think rescues make fantastic pets…. you really do save a life and then change a life. We do what we can to promote rescue animals… I can’t tell you how many stories we have heard of these rescue pets changing peoples lives…all for the better… so when you are in the market for a pet and really want to have a positive impact…. adopt a rescue… you will have given the best possible gift…. a new life… have a great week everyone….new work out shortly….
…….peace
……..james
Introducing the latest employee at AOJ..Madison, Studio Watchdog
by james | Jun 28, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone;
Officially today we launched our 2nd company, Indiscretions Lifestyle …. I have always had a tremendously strong pull to the entrepreneurial side of things… I think I got this gene from my Dad….lol….. I often wondered why the pull was so strong, but then I realized that the answer was right in front of me… I am an artist!…most artists I know are driven to this side.
It used to be that being an artist meant not making money (“starving artist”) except for a tiny few who hit the big time (such as Dale Chihuly).
A few months ago I read an article the really did a great job talking about the entrepreneurial artist. Briefly stated the author wrote about the artist entrepreneur, noting 3 underlying trends supporting this broader trend toward combining business and art skills:
“…While making a living as an artist continues to be difficult, 3 broad trends are combining to create new opportunities for artist entrepreneurs:
1. Consumer interest in unique, one-of-a-kind or handcrafted products is growing, broadening the market for works of art.
2. The Internet is creating new and effective methods for tech savvy artists to find an audience – and for art buyers to easily find art that interests them.
3. Technology is reducing the costs of producing many types of art, allowing artists to price at levels that attract new buyers and expand the art market. Technology also gives artist entrepreneurs the ability to create and manage small businesses with multiple revenue streams. This greatly increases the likelihood they will generate enough revenue to succeed.”
When Sieglinde and I first committed to this lifestyle we used to own several art galleries, and were literally stunned when we started dealing with artists in a business relationship for the first time. Many did not have practical business skills — and a surprising number lacked even basic organizational skills. If we wanted to reach out to a specific artist on a very creative piece for the gallery, we were usually unable to get ahold of them as they have either moved or changed their phone numbers….
But now times are changing for more and more entrepreneurial artists… I am seeing them embrace the need for business and art to be connected as one….I think this is a critical key for success when you live this lifestyle… Combining your creativity and applying sound business principles puts you in a position for success and allows for you to set yourself apart in this competitive environment….
So as we move forward with this journey, I know it has to be a blend of talent, economics and hard work that will open us up to the next level….. Looking forward to a great ride…. Come and join us… its going to be awesome!… Have a great week everyone… new work out this week!!
……….peace
………….james
Creative Director
Indiscretions Lifestyle
Below is the new company logo…
