“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Are you foolishly consistent? This quote comes from Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance.” And it reveals the essence of what is wrong with modern culture. The pull of culture is toward conformity at the expense of the individual. The individual gets lost in […]
Artists – Let Your Life Speak
October 19, 2012 by 4 Comments
“Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” – Francis of Assisi There is an old story about Quaker relief workers in Europe after World War II. After receiving help from the workers, a refugee asked what Quakers believe. When a few of the Quakers explained that they believed helping people with their […]
Why Artists Are the Luckiest People I Know
July 31, 2012 by 12 Comments
“Picasso was drawing like an angel in the crib.” – Louise Nevelson, Sculptor Artists are the luckiest people I know. That may sound a little funny to you, but it’s true. Without question, artists are the luckiest people. Here’s why I say this. A few years ago, I was at a friend’s house socializing with a […]
Going Through: Surviving the Swamplands of the Artistic Journey
July 23, 2012 by 10 Comments
“Truth is always on the side of the more difficult.” – Friedrich Nietzche Not too far from the small town where I grew up in northwest Louisiana, there is a long stretch of swamplands called, graphically enough, “Black Lake Swamp.” There is a paved highway with bridges that runs right through the heart of the […]
Hymn to the Barely Brave
May 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
This blog is for the barely brave and beginning lovers like me, who refuse to abandon their dream, now more humble and real, and struggle to meet life and even death head on. It is for those who value personal freedom as their most precious gift and want to make of life the joy it […]
The Great Devotion
May 21, 2012 by 4 Comments
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who […]
Gary Bolyer’s 5 Most Inspirational Art Blogs of All Time
August 25, 2011 by 4 Comments
Do you want to know the most inspirational art blogs? Okay, so you want to be inspired? You want to feel something don’t you? You want to feel it in your bones? Then you must read these 5 inspirational art blogs that I have written. If you don’t know what I’ve been writing about lately, […]
