Hot Dog in Space

Many years ago I was playing around with lino prints. I did this one that I call "Hot Dog in Space."

Regan Lee, Hot Dog in Space, circa 1985, lino print on paper

Max Ernst Inspired Paintings - James Rich

Related to the post below about Christopher Knowles and Mike Clelland's bloggings about the surrealist painter Max Ernst, I thought I'd share a few of Jim's paintings. Ernst, as I commented in the previous post has been an inspiration for him. Jim often paints in a surrealist style, he's also played around with collages and paint as a medium. Many of his surreal and abstract paintings have a "galactic" theme -- referencing space, nature...


This painting reminds me of an Ernst influence, which Jim freely acknowledges. This is an acrylic on canvas board. Neither one of us remembers the title -- the original is packed away in the dark regions of the studio outside -- but we both think the title had Atlantis in it. If it didn't, it should have! So for now it's titled "Ruins of Atlantis."

James Rich, Ruins of Atlantis, 1980?, acrylic on canvas board

hidden experience: Max Ernst, ritual magic and UFOs

Mike Clelland has a great post, inspired by the equally great OP from Christopher Knowles at The Secret Sun, concerning the surreal painter Max Ernst. Were images in the paintings shown on both blogs referring to a UFO abduction event? And even if they were not, not directly anyway, there is still a connection, as Christopher Knowles suggests. See Mike's post at hidden experience: Max Ernst, ritual magic and UFOs and Christopher Knowles post that Mike references here.

Painting by Max Ernst

Knowles writes:

It took some time to sort out but I later found that UFOs minus the ETH (namely, the Elusive Companion Hypothesis) worked quite well when I plugged them into all of the obsessions I plunged myself after dealing with those impasses; Synchronicity, High Weirdness, deep symbology, and so on.

In fact, the ECH was the missing puzzle piece that kept eluding me when dealing with those topics.

I also soon discovered that the ECH was lurking in the shadows of nearly every single obsession-- and often every mystery or conundrum-- in my life without me ever realizing it. I discover fresh examples of this all of the time and share them with you here.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Painting by Max Ernst

(The image of the specific style of circle appears in other paintings. There's something very "all knowing" about that image. Something prescient, reminding me a little of my orange orb encounter. Ernst's circle is not orange, nor is it a orb or closed sphere, but still, there's something that tugs at me in my own personal image bank. In Ernst's circle I find it interesting that the circle seems to beckon, as well as watch. There's an opening within the circle, which evokes, for myself, areas that are hidden yet ... to be found.)



I left a comment at Mike Clellands hidden experience that Ernst is a favorite artist of my husband Jim, who is a painter, often painting in surreal styles. When I shared these posts with Jim, and told him about the book Knowles mentions on his blog; Max Ernst and Alchemy: A Magician in Search of Myth By M. E. Warlick and told him that Ernst "was a magician" he said he "wasn't surprised -- I've always felt that, and always related to his spirituality." (Then a lively conversation ensued about collage, art, spirituality, war, ...okay, I'm back...)

Mike at hidden experience calls Christopher's post about Ernst "groundbreaking" and I agree.

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: CALLING ARTISTS WITH A TOUCH OF VINTAGE DERRING DO!

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: CALLING ARTISTS WITH A TOUCH OF VINTAGE DERRING DO!

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Need An Artist Statement?

Of course you do! Here's mine:

Artist Statement
My work explores the relationship between acquired synesthesia and copycat violence.
With influences as diverse as Rousseau and John Lennon, new tensions are crafted from both explicit and implicit discourse.
Ever since I was a student I have been fascinated by the endless oscillation of relationships. What starts out as undefined soon becomes corroded into a manifesto of defeat, leaving only a sense of nihilism and the chance of a new synthesis.
As wavering replicas become clarified through studious and personal practice, the viewer is left with a new agenda of the corners of our condition.

For yours, go here.

UFO-Mary: Deviant Moon Tarot: Ace of Wands as Madonna Figure

Ace of Wands, Deviant Moon tarot, Patrick Valenza, artist

I just bought myself the Deviant Moon Tarot deck, and am very glad I did. It's even more beautiful and weirdly wonderful than expected. Here's one card that really stood out for me: the Ace of Wands. I wrote more about this on my blog UFO Mary:UFO-Mary: Deviant Moon Tarot: Ace of Wands as Madonna Figure

The Gralien Report - Art of the Anomalous: Does Interest in the Unexplained Promote Artistic Abilities?

Micah Hanks has an item on his excellent Gralien Report:The Gralien Report Art of the Anomalous: Does Interest in the Unexplained Promote Artistic Abilities?

I think it does. I've been a creative type since a kid, am now a writer and a painter. I've also had UFO and paranormal experiences since childhood. As has my spouse; also a writer and artist. As well as a musician. We both were reading at a very early age; I was reading by the time I was four. (We repeated first grade but that was due, not to academics -- we both were above our classmates in reading, etc. -- but birthdates and "social developmental" blee blahs.) Both reading above our level, and interested in subjects "normal" kids weren't interested in. Like Micah, interest in UFOs and the paranormal were considered by most as "not healthy."Writes Micah:

Indeed, when I was very young, I found that reading came very easily. Even as early as first and second grade, my teachers expressed to my parents that they were very interested in my ability to comprehend reading material that was several grade levels ahead of my peers. While my teachers found this interesting, I think my parents were thankful, since they had obviously worked very hard to facilitate a good understanding of language, mathematics, science, etc. However, even that far back, I can recall today that I was nonetheless preoccupied, at times, with something else my parents had also instilled in me, though perhaps unintentionally: a fervent interest in strange phenomena.

In fact, I had a few early experiences where teachers advised me (and my parents, to be honest) that this interest in things like UFOs was scientifically unfounded, and maybe even unhealthy. Looking back, I attribute these sorts of attitudes to my eventual pursuit of understanding these mysteries more fully, and thus providing the foundation for all the sort of madness that gets featured here at The Gralien Report on a frequent basis. In other words, when I was young, my early attempts at raging against society’s machine didn’t involve wearing trendy clothing, playing loud rock (okay, there was a good bit of loud rock) or stupid things like vandalism and the general behavior of a lot of today’s youth: instead, I decided to show everyone that there was, in fact, merit to studying UFOs, Bigfoot, and Loch Ness Monsters.