January 1, 2012 - Happy New Year from john and joyce.

January 3 - john has been asking himself what this website is about. It is NOT a blog! So what is it? The best john can tell, this website is about creativity. john just realized that this is the twenty fifth year of building zenpond. But, as john is finishing zenpond, he has become obsessed with painting. This shift in focus has to do with john's age. He can no longer lift 70 pound stones all day long, but he can lift a paint brush.

john isn't sure why he is obsessed with creativity. He just is. He guesses that is where Zen comes in. He paints just because he paints. He cannot stop!

Interestingly enough, john has found that he has trouble signing his paintings. He isn't sure why that is. He hopes that that has something to do with a lack of egotism, but it probably has something to do with his desire to improve his skills of painting. He doesn't have time to sign a painting. He must move on to the next one.

john has been thinking about the difference between photography and painting. Photography, besides showing realism, can be very creative. You have probably observed photographs in art shows that have been enhanced in many ways to express feelings: colors have been increased, or the range of black and whites have been increased to show what lies in the shadows.

Before photography, the purpose of most paintings was to paint portraits of the rich or to paint religious scenes. This is no longer true. Paintings allow one to be creative and to express emotions on canvas or other surfaces. They often convey the human condition, as writers do in books.

john has been asking himself whether art must be forever. The answer seems to be "no". It is nice for future generations to be exposed to great works of art, and john is pleased to see such works. Paint on canvas and great bronzes can be preserved in museums. john would not want to have missed "Starry, Starry Night" for example. However, there will be great artists in the future with great works of art perhaps even in new media forms. These will be fabulous! In other words, nothing lasts forever, and things must be enjoyed at this moment. Again, Zen comes into play.

January 7 - john has started a new painting that he will call "Kyoto". It will be a triptych. Actually the photos for Kyoto come from photos john took while he, joyce, jerry, and gail were in Victoria B.C. visiting Craigdarroch Castle. Both paintings "Quantum Harmonics" and "About Face" are finished, although they have yet to be placed on the art gallery page. Here is the start of of the middle panel of the three panels of "Kyoto":

January 9 - Here is what "Kyoto" looks like so far:

 

January 15 - yesterday was quite a "red letter" day for john. He was accepted, after 5 of his paintings were juried, into the prestigious "Images Art Gallery" in downtown Overland Park Kansas. The gallery decided to start with three of john's paintings: "Neushwanstein", "Harbor at Peggy's Cove", and "The Tropical Girls". Each painting is priced at a reasonable price of $600. john will probably help maintain the "Images" website.

john is still painting on the triptych of "Kyoto". He has started painting on the second panel, and is composing the third. The first two shall be shown here shortly. The first two panels have a very strong (interesting) perspective. john is finding that painting a triptych requires him to place all three panels next to each other in order to keep the composition, color, etc. consistent from panel to panel. This means the three are being painted upstairs, without an easel, rather than in the basement as usual.

January 21 - here is what "Kyoto" looks like so far. john is having trouble lining up the three panels on the website, but they match perfectly in real life. john has a ways to go on all three panels, especially the far left one.