Tilting Windmills

Don Quixote is a 1955 sketch by Pablo Picasso

"The Impossible Dream"

from MAN OF LA MANCHA (1972)

music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest

To follow that star

No matter how hopeless

No matter how far

To fight for the right

Without question or pause

To be willing to march into Hell

For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true

To this glorious quest

That my heart will lie peaceful and calm

When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this

That one man, scorned and covered with scars

Still strove with his last ounce of courage

To reach the unreachable star

An Unschedule Trip

You've heard me talk a lot about counting my blessing. A lot of times it's a morale booster when I'm feeling funky. I've heard it said a couple of times lately, "Well Dave, it could be worst." I don't like the idea of backwards blessing. I think there are enough blessings right in front of us. The reason I say that is, I remember when I was in an art class years ago, the teacher warned us to not compare our work to other. He said "You'll always find somebody who is better or worst then you, and you can get in the habit of focusing on your neighbors piece when you should be concentrating on your own."

Things have gotten a little heck-tick lately. I'm living the homeless shelter here in Boise for now, and I can still say to you honestly, that I'm happier than I was six months ago. I still don't have a car. I have to ride the bus and I get lost a lot. Still looking for a job. Haven't seen the little kids but two hours since I got back from New Mexico. But Griffin has been diligent, and a rock, and a big help. Oh yeah, and I'm not still having symptoms, but I'm not in the hospital, and I'm holding it together,

The first night I was in the shelter I didn't sleep very much. It was as bad as you might think ~ fifty to eighty guys you don't know, farting and snoring. and not knowing any of them or what they're capable of. Some nights are better then others. I still wake up all the time and think, "Oh man, am I still here?!"

It's not forever.

~ And I got pointed in the right direction for some good programs. I am surprised how much Boise is doing for the homeless. For now I have a place to sleep. Food to eat. Warm clothes & a soft pillow.

I always liked when the kids were little, Jennifer would help them to pray during family prayer. She would point out the simplest of things to them ~ soft pillows, toys, etc.

I still think of that now and again.

Funny story though ~ we have to do chores everyday.  We've all heard the "don't drop the soap" jokes. Well, my chore one day was to scrub the big showers. I was throwing trash away and not thinking about anything, and I went to pick up a bar of soap that had gotten wet a stuck solid to the tile! There I was bent over doing all I could to pick it up ~


~ and suddenly I stand straight up and think ~ "oh shit! it's a trap!"

My Favorite Quote ~ Ever!

Indulge me please. This is my favorite quote ~ EVER!  I just found it and the link so I want to keep it in a safe place. Thanks  ~ d.

"And now we're here - our memories are veiled - and we're showing God and ourselves what we can do. And nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us. And then, as President Brigham Young said, we're going to wonder why we were so stupid in the flesh.

"God loves us. He's watching us, he wants us to succeed, and we'll know someday that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us. If we only knew it, there are heavenly hosts pulling for us - friends in heaven that we can't remember now, who yearn for our victory. This is our day to show what we can do - what life and sacrifice we can daily, hourly, instantly bring to God. If we give our all, we will get his all from the greatest of all."


                                                 Ezra Taft Benson [Jesus Christ - Gifts and Expectations 1974]

Click Here To See Full Talk

Tim Harris ~ A Gift To The World

Tim and the snowman he picked out!

Me and Tim~ Tim's Place reached 40,000 hugs while we were there. Oh Yeah!

Harrison asked me to get Tim's autograph. Tim did him one better and wrote him a note!

Who knows now how I first stumbled a crossed Tim’s video, but it is now a significant part of my history. The day I found it, I watched it about 10 times! It may seem excessive yes, but that's so like me. Once I listen to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” 100 times over the course of a single weekend; I liked the way the song made me feel at peace about me in the world. The same thing happened to me when I watched Tim’s video. It spoke to something very deep inside me; we are all gifts to the world, we all have something to contribute, and we can accomplish our dreams if we put our hearts into it...but how do I convey this to somebody?

I felt this over welling sense to give back to Tim.

I surprised myself when I called down to Albuquerque and found myself talking to Kevin the manager of Tim’s Place: Breakfast, Lunch & Hugs. He was very nice and not a bit shocked that a grown man was calling from Boise, Idaho blathering about Tim, art and “feelings”. We talked for a little bit. I explained to him who I was, what I do, and that I wanted to give Tim some of my art. He took down my web address and said he would help Tim pick something out.

When we got there Tim was at the door. Things were kindda busy. A lot of people. A lot or regulars. It was the kind of place that Tim sat down at your table if he knew you. Food was great. I got two hugs. It was a hug fest! When I gave him his picture I handed it to him and snuck away to our table. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him hold it up to the whole restaurant. He liked it, that's what mattered.

             We all have our own way of communicating, and art was my way that I could tell Tim he was a gift not just to the world in general, but to me specifically.  It’s about reaching out. I don’t know all the places the thought is written down, but it is in the New Testament it says ~ “Ask and ye shall receive ~ Knock and it shall be open unto you ~ Seek and ye shall find”. Sometimes it’s just as easy as asking. Other times it’s a little harder and you have to go asking around. And still there are those times you have to search high and low before you get what you are after.  This trip had a little of all three. But in the end I felt like the great conversation of life had happen for me.

Tim's Place is the kind of place I could go back to a hundred times!

Oh Yeah!

Creeping My Own Blog

Just stopping by for a quick peek, and I see the Blog has met another mile stone
~ Six -Thousand Hits! I will do something specail for it later ~
after I get back into town. Peace everyone.

Benign Narcissism

It’s Sunday in Boise, ID. ~ it's windy and cloudy and The Doors are playing while I type. Jim Morrison said something that I related to back when I was young, but now even more so, which may explain my hyper seance of self importance today.

No. 2 (2011)

“I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being, but with the soul of a clown which forces me to blow it at the most crucial moments.”

Isn't that a fun quote?

No.11 (2008)

If you want to talk to me I would like to think I could be honest and direct, not just wax all eloquent and stuff about whatever it is you want to know. Also just as important I hope I would find you as interesting and the conversation would go both ways. 

No. 8 (2008)

Even if it wasn’t interesting, we could always talk about our shoes. I’ve found shoes more of a hot topic than the weather in some cases.

No. 9 (2009)

However, if there were times I could not give you the answers you seek, I believe my art is as much of a tattle-tail if ever there was one. You and I have talked about some of these self-portraits before, some of these things bear repeating.

No. 7 (2012)

Whether it’s my lack of ability ~ Oh and regardless of what you’ve heard, good looks and artist ability only get you so far in this world; about as far as my shoes sometimes ~ Now where was I? Oh yes, whether it’s my lack of ability as an artist or my lack of interest in the subject; I tend to clown around with these paintings and not take them too serious.

No. 6 (2012)

No. 5 (2011)

Maybe you’re asking yourself “what does he mean by too serious”; I mean things like self-portraits No.4 ~ the infamous Poor Sad Bastard Portrait. I was just doing a harmless painting when it hit me. BAM! I dug up all this crap I had stuffed down inside myself; and by pulling it out with my art it cast a new light on my problems. What a help it was for me.

No. 4 (2012)

So it’s like I say “Be honest and you never have to remember what you said”. However, I can’t help you when you rediscover your own truths. You’re on your own from there.

No.3 (2005)

Would you say there's a David Street and Jim Morrison connection in there somewhere? 

I’ll take that as a yes :) 

No.1 (2010)

May I Introduce To You, My Sixteen Year Old Self

Funny I remember looking a lot cooler than I look here ~ rockin' my handmade "Rainbow" shirt. Funnier still, I remember those girls on the bench looking a lot more feminine. Oh, to be sixteen and immortal again...Nah!

High Watermark

This marks my fiftieth post! I’m pleasantly surprised. I had a class at BSU that required me to blog regularly. It was very unnerving. I can speak in public without a moments notice; but ask me to put those same thoughts on paper, not only will it cause me to go into a complete tail spin, you will not see your paper for weeks. I’ve over come a great deal of that anxiety with this project, and accomplished creating a forum for my thoughts and art work. ~ So cool, here's to another fifty! Thanks for your support. I've posted a new blog header; among other things, Georgia's picture has got some bling!

Words and Colours

Ask anyone that knows me, I don’t spell well...at all.

I speak like English is my second language.

Oh, and don’t get me started on grammar and punctuation.

All that being said, I like words.

Words are like colors…there are millions of them,

and each have there own special place.

Here's one of my favorite words:

Bewilderment:

confusion resulting from failure to understand

Baffled, mystified, at a loss, or uncertain

"He sits in his car, lost in his bewilderment"

I think if today's word was a color is would be aquamarine.

New Favorite Lyrics

Hey, did you hear about the one that got away,
they say he looked left,

she turned right-meant to be together but not that night,

it's when fates running late,
we tend to make mistakes,

we go round and round from love to love

it's either way too much or not enough

Train ~ "I got you"

Geek Quote of the Week

"Net boy, Net girl

Send your impulse 'round the world

Put your message in a modem

And throw it in the Cyber Sea" ~N.Peart

Top Five - List No. 3 ~ Road Trip!

Going back the the old standard, "If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island what music would you take?"
Mind you, we live in the days of the series "Lost", where it seems anything is possible, so don't worry about "the hows", "the wheres", and "the whys". If it makes you feel better let's plan a road trip! I'm leaving for Boise in the morning. I hope to get a job, talk to B.S.U, but most of all spend as much time with the kids as possible. So here is my top five: "If I was going to be stranded on a deserted island what music would you take? or road trip albums list to go see the kids!

No.5 Nick & Norah's Infinite Play list [ OMPS ] (2009)
No.4 Jazz [ Queen ] (1978)
No.3 Yessongs [ Yes ] (1973)
No.2 Physical Graffiti [ Led Zeppelin ] (1975)
No.1 All Things Must Past [ George Harrison ] (1970)

Happy Trails!

My Oldest Favorite Word

Determination

[de·ter·mi·na·tion]

–noun

the quality of being resolute; firmness of purpose.

"It is by sheer determination that I got this far"

Top Five - List No. 2 ~ The Letter "B"

Today's list is brought to you by the letter "B"

Rush and I go back clear to Jr. High. Some of my happiest and saddest times are tied to their music...so on this the first day of April 2010, I give you, without fan fair or delay, The top five Rush songs that begin with the letter "B"

No.5 Bastille Day [Caress of Steel](1975)
No.4 By-Tor and the Snow Dog [Fly by Night](1975)
No.3 Between Sun & Moon [Counterparts](1993)
No.2 Bravado [Roll the Bones](1991)
No.1 Bravest Face [Snakes and Arrows](2007)
Though we might have precious little,It's still precious.

Have a Beautiful April Fools day!

Calico Ghost Town

Before I came back to Barstow in September of 2008, I thought Calico was just a place you took relatives from out of town. I needed to go someplace different to draw, so I drove up to Calico. My sister loves the place. She's the one that turned me on to just hanging out there. I sat near the old school house and worked on a new project for hours. The feeling up there was real nice. Peaceful. I'll be doing it again real soon; closer to sunset this time. Look for the new project to be posted soon.

Top Five - List No. 1 ~ First List

Judas Priest was taken to court for allegedly putting subliminal messages in their music that lead to two young men killing themselves. The press made a big deal out of it. Well what I wanna know is, where was the press coverage when Air Supply and Dan Fogelberg turned me into a pussy? What with their sad sack songs, "Oh don't leave me. How will I live without you" crap! I'm lucky I made it out of my teens alive.

Here are my top five wussy songs and the girls that go with them.

[in order of how bad the song sucks & how bad she thrashed me] :)

No.5 Babe [Styx] ~ Paulette
No.4 Back to Avalon [Kenny Loggins] ~ Cyndee
No.3 Runaway [Jefferson Starship] ~ Lori
No.2 Give Me Some Time [Dan Fogelberg] ~ Denise
No.1 I’m All Out of Love [Air Supply] ~ Tammy

Notice no one ever dumped me to Rush, no surprise there!

My New Favorite Word

Simpatico [sim·pa·ti·co] –adjective

congenial or like-minded; likable:

"I find her simpatico in every respect."

Fearless Joy

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

Love

George Harrison was asked in 1987, if he still believed that all you need is love? This was twenty years after the Beatles had recorded the song. The question was part of a TV show looking back on the "Summer of Love"

His answer was simple, direct, and full of convection.

"Yes, absolutely!"

Love (Emmett Fox, 1937)

There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer,
No disease that enough love will not heal,
No door that enough love will not bridge,
No wall that enough love will not throw down,
No sin that enough love will not redeem . . .
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble,
How hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle,
How great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love
will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough,
you could be the happiest and, most powerful being in the world.



All You Need Is Love (Lennon/McCartney, 1967)

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game

There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time

There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.

It's easy.

All you need is Love

Mass Media Market Strategists

The inspiration for the hybrid of watercolor, pen & ink I do, goes back to a Tootsie Pop commercial from the 1970’s. I was taking a beginning watercolor class at Boise State University in 2006. We were given the assignment of doing an abstract. I loved it! Painting pictures of barns was not doing it for me. The finished piece was to be cut up into 5”X 7” splotches. From there, we picked our favorite one and reproduced its abstract qualities on a larger paper. I finish the assignment and the class, and had all of these beautiful splotches leftover. That’s when I remembered the commercial. It’s amazing what sticks in our minds, and even more amazing how it comes out. The commercial took Plain Jane pen & ink and married it with a psychedelic backdrop. That idea and Photoshop gave me permission to go crazy! So I would like to thank the mass media market strategists for plaguing my Saturday morning cartoons with their relentless assault of propaganda, for without you cramming this image in my brain, I would not be the person I am today.