Just before the holidays, JG Tornoe received this interesting email from one of our students:
Hi JG,As I was setting up this still life, arranging the tangerines around the pitcher, I was thinking of the academy and some of the concepts we learned about when one of the tangerines made its way away from the group as if it knew it belonged elsewhere in the painting. I was reminded of how we learned about the element that doesn't belong, yet fits in, and the impact it adds. So I went with it. It clicked.
As simple as the subject is, the strength of the composition makes it. I believe this is my best painting so far.
I think of you guys often. May peace be with all of you through the holidays.Josie
Nice painting, huh?
The line from Josie's email that struck me the hardest was “one of the tangerines made its way away from the group as if it knew it belonged elsewhere in the painting.” I didn't know this could happen to a painter, but anyone who has ever written fiction knows that imaginary characters will often gain lives of their own and take off in directions that you never intended.
Who gives imaginary characters this strength of will? You do.
Wizard Academy grads will recall a session on day one when we discuss 3rd dimensional realities or “realities outside of time.” (1st dimensional reality is the realm of the Creator, 2nd dimensional reality is the realm of rules and law, and 4th dimensional reality is what's left when opinion is gone.) In Josie's 3rd dimensional reality the prettiest color is black, the best-tasting food is triple cream brie on ciabatta bread and the most desirable car is a Hummer. And none of these are debatable, because in JosieWorld, Josie is absolute and she can put the tangerine wherever she wants. There is no “right” place for it to be.
Have you been confusing Perception (3rd dimensional reality) with Truth (4th dimensional reality)? I'm amazed at the number of people who do.
In 1994 a liberal Democrat named William O'Shaughnessy aired a radio commentary about the death of Richard Nixon, a conservative Republican ex-president; “I'm an expert on Nixon because he and I went to the same dentist. He got drilled and X-rayed just as I did, in the same chair. So I can get on the radio and tell you all about his place in history. In this endeavor, I am being monitored and closely watched by faithful listeners who have been asking, 'Just what will you say about Nixon on the radio? I mean, given your history and all?' Well, here it is: I liked the son of a bitch. I think we have lost a great man. (Oh, but you shouldn't say that word on the radio!) But this is Nixon we're talking about. And he would understand. I liked Nixon because he was a scrambler who could curse and swear and drink with the best of them and I don't feel compelled to apologize for feeling the way I do about the flawed, imperfect, awkward, struggling man who was buried yesterday.”
William O'Shaughnessy is the monarch of O'ShaughnessyWorld and in that world, Richard Nixon was a likable man.
…and in JosieWorld, the prettiest color is black, the best-tasting food is triple cream brie on ciabatta bread and the most desirable car is a Hummer.
How are things in your world today?
Roy H. Williams
PS – Things in RoyWorld are grand. Wish you were here. – RHW
PPS – The Free Public Seminar is back! Last autumn I let you know that the Wizard's schedule for 2003 made it unlikely that he would be able to teach any free seminars for awhile but Wizard of Ads managing partner David Stanley came to the rescue! Be at the Wizard's Castle in Austin on February 19 for an unforgettable day of powerful information presented by the gifted and charming David Stanley. Reserve your seat by visiting wizardacademy.org or calling me at (800) 425-4769 – J.G. Tornoe, Academy Director