Thread: Inside a Walrus's Mind

Hey guys

Just thought I would post what I post on my other blog in here!

So welcome and I hope you enjoy my posts

“There are places I'll remember all my life, though some have changed; some forever, some for better, some have gone, and some remain. All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living, in my life I've loved them all.” John Lennon was only 25 years old when he wrote this song, this is what I find so profound about the words. It's as though he has lived his whole life and is looking back as though he is at the end of it. For someone so young to write words so melodic, so poetic, and yet so sensible, it makes you think about your own life. John Lennon created works of musical genius that were far beyond their time and spoke out about his hope for a peaceful world. John Lennon not only influenced me to be more politically active and vocal with my thoughts, but he also influenced me by showing me that I should never doubt myself and my dreams.

In the early seventies John was not afraid to express his objections to the war. He showed his objections in a very creative way. I have listened to John's past interviews and have seen multiple documentaries on his campaigns for peace during this era. His words encourage me to be more active and less passive politically for peace and for what I believe in. He was very aggressive during that period when he put up billboards across major cities around the world saying “War is Over!” That had a major affect on people in that time and it has had an affect on me because I too feel that war is never the answer and was not the answer back then. Since hearing John's message about free speech I have explored free speech in other countries and have learned how in other countries people are persecuted for speaking out. I now realize how fortunate I am to live in the United States where free speech is sacred and we are allowed to speak our mind freely. I plan to become more politically active in the next election because I want to carry on John's message of peace forever.

Looking at John's life has taught me to never doubt myself. Even a little band from Liverpool can make it big. John Lennon was truly the Jack of all trades; with the Beatles he released thirteen albums in seventeen short years, at twenty four years old during the climax of Beatlemania he released his book titled In His Own Write, and he released fourteen solo albums after the Beatles broke up. His peace campaign with wife Yoko caught the eye of then President Richard Nixon. John accomplished everything he could have asked for and more; that has influenced me to never give up on my dreams no matter how big they are.

John Lennon's life has influenced me to reach for my dreams and express my views. John has been a catalyst to get me excited for the next stage of my life where I am able to be politically active for the first time. Knowing how much John accomplish in his short life gives me confidence that I will succeed in my future even if its not to his degree. John is someone I'll remember all my life.

End

Tonight as I sit here typing this I remember typing the above essay for when I was applying to colleges last year. The prompt for the college entrance essay was this: Name a famous person and explain how they have affected or changed your life.

Still to this day I believe the things that I wrote last year. John Lennon to me is an ideal role model for today's youth more than ever. Sure he was involved in a drug culture but then again who wasn't at that time? Lennon has provided the world with a soundtrack to which we all can relate.

Songs such as "Imagine" or "Instant Karma" or even "God" are related to topics we as humans can all relate to. War, peace (or lack there of), politics, karma, and religion. Imagine especially has resonated with people because the whole message of the song is to Imagine the world without boundaries and without all these barriers that we ourselves have created.

The youth of today needs hope in order to change our world for the better.

All they have to do is Imagine.

Sincerely,

Bryan Clark

To me Jackson Pollock is a genius. He created a whole new genre of art which seems so simple and like such a "no-brainer" but in reality it is quite uncommon to find splatter art that matches his exact style.

For me the use of color was crucial when trying to recreate a piece with Pollock's style but with my own uniqueness.



Pollock says that you have to let the art live. For me at least it seemed like a hard concept at first. Letting the art live? How can I relate to that at all? Basically I understood it for the figurative sense but not literally.

To let my art live I just trusted that me flinging some paint at the blank canvas would turn into something worthwhile.

After getting all my supplies (paint, canvas, brush) I decided to just start right away. This is what really got me thinking about Pollock and his art. Did Jackson Pollock ever in-vision what he would end up with before he actually started in on his work? I certainly had a general idea because I had limited colors to work with.

After a little bit of time I realized that since I only had Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow to work with the painting may seem a little boring if I just left it at those select primary colors. So then I decided to mix some together and work with more random colors such as purple and pink since I could mix up the select colors I had. Pink and Purple started to look really good at first. Then after looking further I realized that I darkened the paintings mood.

My whole purpose was to use popping colors which is quite opposite of what Jackson Pollock's most famous works include.

Here is one of his most famous paintings:



The simplicity of this is really unchallengeable. He used 1 single shade (black) which is not considered a color.

Me on the other hand came out with this:



I admit that mine came out much differently than Pollock's but this was my intent with the use of such bright colors.

So I challenge you! Give it a try. The supplies are super cheap for this kind of painting depending on your canvas size and your amount of colors.

Great posts about Lennon and Pollack!!! Keep up the good work.

Thanks. Haven't posted anything in a while. I'll start on something soon