What True Wealth Really is

True wealth is the art of basking in the joy and fulfillment that we bring to others, through our benevolence and our demonstrations of genuine love.  http://ping.fm/qWk0n

Blast from the Past: Friends Meet Again

 

While doing some public relations work for two artist friends, at an Art Exhibit Opening and Reception thrown for Artists – Aguilar Marrero and Reina Miranda of  Taino Spirit – at Bronx Borough Hall, I was blessed to be re-acquainted with a good friend from my teenage years, now Whitehouse Director of Urban Affairs, Adolfo Carrion, Jr. 

I knew Carrion Jr. as a teenager when I sang at his Dad’s church in Eldrige Street in New York City.  I was just 14 years old . We were both innocent youngsters who used to worship at meetings and youth rallies, where  my sisters and I were invited to sing. Filled with gladness we were able to catch up a little about the good old days and were in disbelief of how quickly time passes.  I always remembered the Director of Urban Affair’s family being an upstanding family of extremely high values and especially remember the priceless advice that his mother dispensed, during those times when I really needed it most.  His parents were two people of the highest calibre that I deeply admired and highly respected.  

I served as Secretary of the Embajadores de Cristo (Ambassadors of Christ) Brooklyn Chapter for one year in 1977 and was elected District Secretary of the Embajadores de Cristo’s entire Eastern Spanish District in 1978, yet for another year – a monumental task that I still have no idea how that happened, except for God’s grace. (Of course, I am stronger, more mature and much better equipped now to handle that job if I had to do it today.)   Wherever there was an EC event, there we all were, the EC youth, happy to join in on the youth rallies and activities that were afforded to us by the EC.   Adolfo Carrion, Jr.?   Popular,  earnest, fun loving, well adjusted and loved by all – the guy most likely to succeed – he was always everywhere we went, lighting up events with his trademark smile and people swarming around him.  Everyone looked up to and turned to Adolfo Carrion, Jr.   It seems that does not change.  It’s rare to hold private audience with him now as it was then.  Nothing has changed about that, but naturally it’s for the good of the Bronx these days and pretty soon for the good of all of New York City.  

I never doubted for one second that Carrion Jr. would excel to the heights of his existing political career.  He has always possessed several  important qualities.  He, just like his Dad before him, is brilliant and someone who genuinely cares about people.  When news of his election to Bronx Borough President broke 7 years ago, it was not news to me at all.  I knew, as thousands of other people who came to meet him in his youth, that Adolfo Carrion, Jr. had the potential to make it to where he is today and no doubt make it even further, again, because he is an earnest person who continues tocare about people. 

Those who know Carrion Jr., I am certain, will continue to support him, bearing one very important fact – they know first hand, not through the press, or the evening news, that the man is an upstanding person, who is a shaker and a doer (i.e., bringing public focus to the plight of the people of Vieques, PR, when not very many people were looking and did not care about what was happening there) who does not lose his heart to politics alone, but who continues to allow himself to be guided by the knowledge of the needs of others – which makes me wonder what’s next for Carrion Jr.  – City Comptroller in 2009?   Well, that sounds great to me.

I am normally not big on accolades and not that Carrion, Jr. needs validation from me or anyone else for that matter, but this is just one of those things that I genuinely feel needs to be said, and that is that Adolfo Carrion, Jr. is a great person and one of the most exemplary people, that I have ever known.  

Carmen Amoros Goldberg

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Http://www.CarmenGoldbergMedia.Com

Jack of All Trades: The Puzzle Pieces of My Artistic Life

I wear many hats. I am a true portrait artist, a good photographer, a media artist, actress and voice-over artist and I podcast my own internet radio show – the New York Pod Cafe (http://www.newyorkpodcafe.com). I author blogs about art and photography and do a host of other things that would bore you to death, if I went on and on about, but one of the most relaxing things I do is taking photos.

Not long ago, for a time, I found myself photographing pre-school children. It did not pay well at all. It was hard work, required a high degree of accountability, yet I truly enjoyed it immensely, but I found that despite my talents and skills, my upbeat approach, a high degree of enthusiasm, being creative, being punctual and most of all honest, I was spending too many hours traveling to those jobs.  I would drive two hours in rush hour traffic and the wear and tear began to takes its toll in a short amount of time. I’d get up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready and many times, drive long distances to country church pre-k schools to photograph children. 

Photographing children was such great fun, but there was a problem.  I soon began falling asleep behind the wheel. Getting up at 4:00 am to get to a site at 6:30 am or 7 am, then spend four to five hours doing the sittings and then returning home at close to 7:00 pm at night, was taking its toll on me.   Oh, I probably would do it all over again, who knows, but I realized that I needed to try and work closer to home. The falling asleep behind the wheel was not something I shared with my employers or my husband at the time. I didn’t want to jeopardize doing something that I was enjoying so much, even at just 1/4 of the hourly wage, that I had previously  made working at a Global Information Technology Help Desk for Lazard Freres.  That was  a great paying job I must say.

Also, I had begun to feel too overqualified for this type of photography work.  It wasn’t until I found myself falling asleep behind the wheel, as I was driving on my way to photograph a pre-k school one morning, on the New Jersey Turnpike, that I realized, there must be a better way for me to continue doing what I love and keeping it a little closer to home.  That does not mean I would never drive to another state to do a photography sitting.  I would do it in a heart beat, because I know I would not be having to drive out of state every day.

Well, I realized that I could work as a photographer closer to home, without putting my life on the line. I also knew that I could do this work for myself and earn a better living at it, than what I was being paid by the company that I previously worked for.  Reluctantly, I gave up that photography job, for all of the right reasons — I wanted to know that my hard work would be appreciated. I wanted to feel a degree of safety or personal security, I wanted to be better compensated and I wanted to be able to give a more personal touch to my clients and did not want to be confined to having to follow the rigidity of another company’s modus operendi or format. My reason for that is quite simple, I prefer to treat people like royalty and give them VIP attention.

I did not enjoy knowing that people that I was photographing for (the clients), were feeling like they were being treated like cattle on an assembly line – The “Brand that butt! [Stamp!] Next!” approach.  Having worked in the corporate world for many years, I came to rub elbows with very prominent people. That was God’s purpose and I don’t regret one bit of having worked for these great companies.  Rubbing  elbows with the creme at top companies served as the finest education one can have. I worked for top VIPs, rubbed elbows with correspondents and reporters, when I worked for the Associated Press, top Accountants when I worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers and how could I forget those wonderful Bankers, Asset Management and IT support people at Lazard Freres (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza). I have had quite a fulfilling professional experience and all of it has served to round me out and has served me well.

I continue to retain many of those friendships too.  Through those friendships, I became more educated and refined.  I learned to observe proper protocol around VIPs and how to maintain a degree of decorum around them.  Heck I was blessed enough to have met  David Rockefeller (yes, one of the famous Rockefellers) and be on a first name basis with him.  What a fun guy he is.  I will never forget our chats on our way up to our respective floors at 30 Rock (it’s not just a place on a TV show.  It’s a real address).  Who would ever imagine that this little girl from Brooklyn, New York, could ever go from one wonderful, work experience to another?   My life almost seems fictional, because yes, I have lived through working with all of these companies.  I met Billy Graham at the Associated Press and made frends with Katherine Graham of the Washington Post, who was friends with my then Boss, Thomas F. Pendergast.

I met David Lettermen, Al Roker, Matt Lauer, chatted downstairs at 30 Rock with Katie Couric and Sue Simmons, Stephanie Powers and now my wonderful painting instructor Nelson Shanks and now I even have a friend from my teenage years working as Director of  Urban Affairs in the Whitehouse.  My goodness one has to be very famous and wealthy beyond believe to meet half the people that I have met and yet, God saw to it that my life crossed paths with them.  He was showing me how important He thought I was.  Even if others didn’t think so, but most certainly He proved to me that truly things that I am worth all of it, even when I sometimes forget, and feel that I am not.

Still, I don’t need lectures from people, telling me how much God loves me.  Goodness if after having all of these experiences, I don’t realize this, I must have wood for a brain, but yes, I do acknowledge that my Creator has given these wonderful experiences, the opportunities and the great talents that He has given, because He absolutely unequivocably loves me and has a GREAT purpose for my life.  It may be a momentary purpose, but it’s a purpose.

I suppose that having worked for a few CEOs and Upper Management in these corporations gave me a sense of how people should really be treated.  I respect the photography studio that I worked for (and I won’t mention its name here out of wanting to maintain proper professional descretion), but I did not like how people were being treated on both sides of the exchange process – neither the clients, who were receiving photography services, nor the photographers who were providing these services.  I won’t go on and on about that company, out of respect for them, but what they do, I guess, suits their purpose just fine.  

As for me, I felt that I wanted to stick to my principles and thought it best for me to do good by anyone who wants their portrait taken. I never want clients to feel rushed during a photo session and have me running out of there in a rush (unless they ask for a specific time limitation).  It isn’t fair to the client.  Also, photographers need to be appreciated for what they do and Management should take care to observe the overseers as well.

Well, I have moved on. I still have my wonderful Nikon camera and I continue to take photographs for a living. Recently I did corporate portrait sitting with a professional woman, the CEO of several companies and she was completely thrilled with my work. The image that you see here is her portrait. I am glad that despite little pitfalls here and there, I am a Successful Thinker and my ambition and my desire to press on and keep my eyes on the prize, is truly beginning to catapult me to the stratosphere on so many levels. I am grateful to God first of all, for giving me the talent, the vision, the drive, the tenacity, the stamina and the desire to do all of the things that I do, but I am thankful for His teaching me to treat everyone that I encounter with dignity and utmost respect in my interactions with them.

People often tell me that I should stick to doing just one thing. I just can’t. To do that to me is foolishness. My feeling is, I have many talents, so why not use them all. God gave them and so it is in fact my responsibility to use everything that I have,  to the best of my ability. I do my jobs well. I take pride in doing all that I do with professionalism and a good attitude and I have the desire to make sure that people feel delighted with my work.

It’s a rather odd example to use, but I’ll use it anyway – It’s like this, when one makes love, one does it well in order for both persons to feel the full intensity and satisfaction that love making brings. When one truly loves someone, it is important to give the maximum to that person all the time, yes ALL of the TIME and not just when one has the urge. In business one must treat professional client with that same dedication and focus. The client must be kept happy and wanting to do repeat business with the photographer or artist. This is why I apply dedication and artful intensity to my art and my photography work.

My CEO client attested in her review of my work on “LinkedIn.Com” that she was totally happy with my performance and my artistry. I felt like I had reached a perpetual high when I read her recommendation. That was the climax!!! I never expected to receive a review like that one, but well somebody saw that I pour myself completely into one of the things that I love to do and that I do it well and well, that felt fantastic.

I never expected others to tell me how much passion there is in everything that I do. I know that what I do, I do well and nobody should ever feel that they are boasting about themselves if they know they do something well.  You see, most people (except parents) are not very quick to pay a compliment to another person.  That is how it is.   Those that do are a rarity. Still, I am often told that people cannot get enough of the stories that I share on my blogs, or my podcasts.

I have even been asked to write a book conglamerating all of my stories into one publication. I chuckled at first, thinking, “Me an author?,” but I am contemplating the idea of authoring a book. Since I started writing about my work, my ability to see the future has become far stronger, keener and I feel that the possibilities are endless.  I urge person’s who are reading this, to never make light of what they do and just throw themselves into their work and start doing it. Get a business coach and take his or her advice. It is what I have done and I have never felt more encouraged and I am seen the momentum that I am seeing in my work.

I encourage people to quietly go about writing down their goals and putting them into action. I encourage them NEVER to seek approval from people they know are not Successful Thinkers.  I advise them to tap into their faith first and their inner strength and then surround themselves with likeminded people. Not everyone in life is ever going to totally agree, that you can carry out all that you dream of doing.  Last year around Christmas time, someone close to me gave me a bit of a shocker, which completely humiliated and embarassed me.  Worse, it hurt so much because it is someone that I deeply trust and admire.   They said “Why are you bothering with doing what you are doing on that internet radio program. That including the name of the show seem like such a stupid idea.”   Because I love that person, I responded with, “You are supposed to be someone that I love and who loves me.  How can you say such a hurtful thing to me?” 

Being the kind of person that I am, nobody can ever tell me that something that I am doing is stupid and nobody can ever say to me, “You Cannot do this or that.”  I always set out to prove to myself more than to anyone else, that I CAN DO just about anything that I put my mind to.  I urge you to do this also.  NEVER let anyone discourage you from doing what you dream of doing.   Always assess where the statement is coming from and determine what motivates that person to say what they are saying and then back away from them, if it’s necessary to do so.    Never give anyone license to put you, or anything that you dream of doing down.  Never let anyone’s pushy demeanor, demean you as a person, or as a visionary.  If there weren’t any visionaries, life would not be as advanced in everyway as it is in modern times.  

One needs to believe in the gifts that God has given. If someone ever says to you, “Oh you can’t do this or that, oryou have to consult with a leadership in some church body,”  run the other way.   We are to use all of our talents according to what is written. 

Someone who tries to control and limite your potential as a person, is not a friend, they are not taking your best interests into consideration.  The person in the position to decide what we do or don’t do is God and you. If something is not meant to be then it’s not in God’s plan, chuck it and move on to the next thing, but if you have talents or gifts, take them and run with them, like the wind, don’t let anyone keep you from using them.  If your gifts are not being used in the circle where you are, move on and stretch your wings and fly.  Be your best motivator and friend.

It took years for me to start putting all of the things that I do into action and converging them into one complete, fulfilling and joyful experience. My only regret is that I did not start doing what I am doing now, sooner. My friend, whoever you are, if you are reading this and you have dreams. Don’t live somebody elses dream, being it a group that tries to control your mind and life, an institution, a church. Don’t be afraid to pull away from any environment that limits your capacity to live the complete and fulfulling life that God intended you to live. Live out your own dream. Do what you dream of doing and seize every opportunity to bring your dreams to fruition.

Here is a quote that I shared on my Facebook profile:

the Facebook question that precedes my response is “What is on your Mind?  My response:  “That I can look back and be thankful for all that I have accomplished outside of four walls, because I took time to smell the roses. Life is not about letting one’s self getting stuck in the clutches of another person’s dream, but rather acknowledging ones own dreams and as only God would have it, making them a reality and giving Him the thanks for giving to us, our own unique place under the sun.”    Friend, this is true to me.  Make it your reality. 

Photography is only one thing that I do. Doing more than one thing is the spice of life. I bore easily if I do only one thing alone. I am always busy and I am amused and entertained by the people that I work with – even people who are stearn and rigid – people that others may be fearful of.  I see them as human beings too and they have hearts that beat within them. They are people who need to be shown how much they are appreciated.  They are fully attune to the fact that others avoid them. 

Every human being has the sensitivity to pick up when they are being slighted.   Don’t take the office grump for granted.  He or she may have a certain spark inside of them, that you may be privileged to hear first hand and you never what role a person like that person may play in your life.  You may be pleasantly surprised.   I also enjoy being around light hearted people.  I want to be around anybody who enjoys receving the attention that they get from me.  Everyone deserves to be made to feel happy.  Nobody, even the unlikable should be left out of your list of people to share your love, your sense of humor and your fun personality with. You can spark something special in another person’s life by virtue of sharing your talents or the simplicity of a smile, with them. No matter how eccentric someone may be, inside that head of theirs may be a brilliant mind that is worth getting to know and appreciated and something that may very well enrich the experience of knowing them.   Theirs may be a very good story to shared with you.

I cannot get enough out of life. I don’t wish to toot my horn, but my husband often tells me that I am a wonderland to him. He loves watching me work and gets so much out watching me do what I do.  He is my greatest supporter. What’s interesting is that I have chosen never to get so caught up in what I do, that I don’t take notice of the great things that others do. I even enjoy teaching others to do what I do. I am teaching a friend of mine how to draw and I want her to be the best artist that she can be. I love watching my husband when he sits at the piano and plays Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ while I draw, crosstich or photograph him without his being aware of it.

I take pleasure in watching others create and listening to them share their experiences.  I admit sometimes I have to shut up about what I do and let someone else shine.  Something I am learning to do more than ever.   My advise to others is to do the same. Appreciate not just what you do, but appreciate what your mate does as well. Take delight in that person and be thankful for that person being in your life.  Compliment them for what they do.  Appreciate them for who they are.  Even if they drive a truck for a living.  Don’t let one day go by without cherishing them.  Life is short and people need to know they are loved and appreciated just for being themselves.

I try not to keep my life one tracked. Yes, I still do my devotions in the morning, I read the scripture and I pray and meditate. I give thanks to the Artist of my Soul, for without Him I could do nothing. I would be nothing. Yes, I love attending church and being part of something greater than myself. It is good to do everything in good measure and not indulge in just one thing and one thing alone. Experience all of the beauty and all of the great opportunities that surround you. Above all never stop loving people and remember to always use the resources that God gives you to help those less fortunate than yourself.

There is so much in this great big planet that we live in to enjoy and to share. If God did not give it for us to enjoy, then why would He have wasted His precious power and time creating all of it?    Creation, life and people were not meant to sit their and wither away.   Now, he wants you to do more with what He has given.

Enjoy your life, your devotions, your church, your mate, your colleagues, your art, your photography, your podcasting, your writing, you social networks, your friends, your children and anything that you can do well. You may not have talents, but you may have the gift of speaking, or praying or motivational speaking, or just touching others with your radiant smile. Enjoy your personal gifts and all the gifts that surround you, the artistry of the sunsets, the moon at night. The biggest gift to the smallest and most personal one. Enjoy them all.

My life is just like this. I live each day taking everything in like a sponge. I refuse to apologize for it. I cannot get enough out of it. It’s taken time to learn the reasons for leading a happy and fulfilling life, but I am finally at that place, where I am happy being a lover of life and yes, being a Jack of all trades too and yes, even happier that I am able to share all of the Puzzle Pieces in my Artistic life with you.

Once you decide to begin to enjoy your world - and everything in it and not just one thing  - your camera, your paintbrush or your lips will always have a beautiful and interesting story to tell.

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http://www.carmengoldbergmedia.com

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To Be a Great Artist Does One Have to Be Taught – Yes Or No?

When I was in high school, I would sometimes hear my art teachers say, that to be a great artist one has to be born a natural artist. I didn’t agree with this statement. It’s true that I was a born artist, but I did not agree with it at all. It’s true that at age five I rendered a drawing of Jacqueline Kennedy, wearing one of her famous pill box hats and designer suit ensembles, but I always felt that even someone who has to be taught how to draw, because they have no natural drawing abilities, can become a great artist.

Please, let me share my first encounter with Art first, because it was such a fun day for me. I will then tell you the reasons why I feel anyone can learn how to draw. One day when I was a little girl, my Dad came home from a long days work and saw this drawing on a white piece of paper on the table top. Quite impressed with the drawing (and my father was a pretty strong critic when it came to Art) he turned to my mother and said “Say, I didn’t know you could draw like this?” In a relaxed as-a-matter-a-fact tone, my Mother who was in the process of serving my father his dinner responded with, “I didn’t draw that.” My father, said well then if you didn’t draw it “Who visited today and left this drawing on the table?” He was beginning to seem a bit unsettled, at the thought that someone might have visited his family without having had prior knowledge of it. ” This is really good Art,” he said, but his voice began to get a bit stearner and added “Tell me, Inocencia (my Mother’s name), somebody had to have been here. I know that there is no one in this house who can draw like this and I am not going to be played for a fool here.”

With a rather sly expression on her face, my mother walked over as she slowly set my Father’s meal on the table and said, “Trust me Miguel (my father’s name), we did not have company today.” I sat their quietly, as I took in what was happening. I imagined that within my Mother, there was a kind of internal reveling going on, because she had been the first to learn that one of her offspring had a special little gift.

Me, yes, as I said before, I was there, busy eating a small clubsteak, while pretending to be oblivious to what was unfolding around me that evening. I admit I was a little bit scared, because I did not understand what all the fuss about my drawing something on a piece of paper was all about. Yet, at the same time here at just 5 years of age , I was feeling the euphoria of seeing pleasure in my Mother’s eyes. It was as if though I had given her this great gift and from the look on her face, one that appeared to have the worth of a king’s ransom. After all, she was feeling the rush of having had first hand knowledge of my gift. She was the one who caught notice of me as I slowly created a rendering from a newspaper article photograph earlier that day. It was the very first time in my short five years of life, I had ever drawn and the first time my Mother saw me put pencil to paper to draw.

With a little girl’s tone in her voice, almost as if trying not to cause me to lose my concentration and stop what I was doing, she softly asked me “What are you doing?” She was the one who got to see her daughter move a pencil across a page, for the very first time, as she created a drawing of our then First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, from a photograph.
I didn’t think much about it until now, but putting myself in the place of a parent, where they are seeing something like that happen before their eyes, where his or her child starts to draw something out of nowhere, with no prior art schooling or practice, I imagine that it must have seemed to my Mother, a kind of miracle, to witness me draw something so well for the very first time.

With a puzzled look my Father fixed his eyes on her, trying to believe her, but not knowing how long he could keep up trying to believe the words of his loyal life mate. Then he broke and said, “Well, somebody very talented had to have been visiting today, because, just take a look at this. This is the work of an artist.” Now my Mother was playing with my Dad a little bit, I could see it, but she decided to come clean and said, “You don’t know who did this and want me to tell you, don’t you? Well here it is.” While still facing him, as she slightly crouched down toward his ear, her eyes rolled toward me and whispered to him, “Your daughter did that.” Then he asked “Was this a traced drawing?” He was still in disbelief. She did not respond. She went over to the photo that she had clipped, from the newspaper that I’d copied the my drawing from and as she handed it to him said, “See for yourself.” He said, “No, this can’t be? She’s just this little child, she (meaning me) cannot possibly draw like this?” My mother smile and responded with a whisper, “Yes, she can.”

The original photograph was five times smaller than my drawing, evidence that I had not traced over the photo. They looked at each other in disbelief. I had never drawn anything before that day. I just sat myself down one day and began doodling with a pencil and created the drawing, from a newspaper photo. I don’t know where it came from and I guess I may never be sure, but in my heart of hearts, I believe that something of the divine has always been with me. It has nothing to do with me being special, but rather something that somehow, caused me to be born t his way, someone greater than me who saw fit that I have this little gift.

After dinner, my Father called me, “Carmen, come here,” and I said “Yes, Papa” (I called my Dad, Papa with an accent on the last “a”, all of my life) and he asked, can you draw something else? I said, “I don’t know if I can, but let’s see.” He took out the photo of a truck and I drew it as he watched. Now, he believe that he had a daughter that had a little gift.
Over the years, I began to take this little gift for granted. Although I could draw on command, without practice or schooling, I knew that, anyone with a good amount of interest in creating art can truly learn how to draw, paint or even sculpt (something else that I can also do). All one has to do is find a medium that one feels comfortable rendering in and go to it. There is no better place than the privacy of one’s home to try something new. It’s just you that pencil and that piece of paper.

I have always felt that it is just a question of finding the time to practice and using the right materials or mediums that one is comfortable with (Mediums: Charcoal, graphite, conte, oil crayons, india ink, acrylic paint, oil paint). It’s been said before, but I happen to know from my own experience with Art, that Art is subjective. Creating Art, suits one’s own individual needs. It is a personal form of expressing one’s innermost feelings or even just a form of relaxing. It is a way to kick back and escape the stresses of the corporate world or life itself, a way that one validates one’s place and one’s significance in this life that is theirs and theirs alone. I worked in the corporate world for years and I did all that I was told to do and enjoyed my work for top companies, but nothing could beat the feeling of going home grabbing a glass of cider, playing a favorite classical music piece, taking out a few pencils and paint brushes and some watercolor paints and canvass and letting one’s feelings pour out all over that canvass.

My reasons for stating that anybody can learn how to draw? They are very obvious and very simple, as I said before Art is subjective. It is subject to the time, place and the conditions under which it is being created, by the person creating it. It is not that one has to be a GREAT artist, so much as what the feelings and the conditions that inspired a creation, are. Yes, I love classic art. It’s what I do enjoy doing the most. It is beautiful, but I feel that if a person is not classically trained they can still create art, in the form that best suits their form of self expression. It doesn’t matter if one doesn’t see a shape on the canvass early on. If all one sees is color, then color and any unusual shapes that one creates at the moment are considered Art, regardless.

Don’t know how to draw? It’s ok, with enough time you can learn it. But first try making it an enjoyable, fun and relaxing experience. Make it something that you do to unwind and over time, you’ll find yourself taking it more seriously and the fact that you are using it to relax, will serve to help you monitor your progress and critique your work with honesty. You won’t be sweating whether you’re good enough or not. Have fun with it.

Drawing, painting or sculpting is your very own creativeness coming through, no matter how you my think others will perceive it. Not everyone appreciates the same forms of art anyway. So, so what if they hate your art. It is your signature on that canvass and who it should matter most to, most importantly, should be you. If you get a critique you don’t like, remember not to be sensitive about it. Do what I do, write down the critique, the name of the person and the date and time they critiqued it and use that, as a reminder to work on getting better. Don’t take things to heart. As a very popular television artist used to say (paraphrased) “This is your world, your creation and you can do anything you want in it.”

I would add to those words, “Enjoy it, because it is a record of what you were feeling at the time that you created it and only you know exactly what was inside when you did it. Art is one other kind of healer. Create journals outlining what you were feeling when you painted something, do it for you, but keep trying to learn how to draw, while not sweating it. Press on and don’t give up trying to do your first good portrait. Monitor your progress as I have been doing. I post my art online to monitor my own progress. What I am doing is very public and takes nerve, but it’s a way to learn to accept the opinions that others are entitled to giving you.

Despite drawing since childhood, I felt it was necessary for me to take a class and I’ve been drawing all my life. Being involved in Art, it is always important for any artist to remain open to learning. One must be a good pupil in order to understand how to be a better Art instructor.

Here are four important things, that one should try to observe and practice:

1. Draw and focus on getting better. Express yourself and draw what you see. If it is subpar, don’t worry practice some more. You do get better with time. If your work does not look right, admit it to yourself and openly as well. If it does not look right to you, you need to be honest with yourself and learn to understand why. Don’t lie to yourself.





2. My instructor at the Art Student’s League of New York has has told us, “If you don’t like it, erase it and start again.” We cannot become enamored with something that does not have the right proportions, armature and blocking. Don’t love it so much that it pains you to erase it. You can make another one that is way better. Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa approximately five or more times before he did the final portrait of her. Erase it and do it again or grab another piece of paper or canvass and start all over. It is a great exercise and it helps one to become more patience.





3. One should not be intimidated by the critiques of friends and relatives. If one cannot handle being critiqued early on, not showing one’s work until one is certain that their handiwork is really good and one can handle critiquing is good practice. It’s important never to become annoyed by the critics or people who critique art, the world of Art itself would not be complete without them. Without them, those who don’t know much about art or how to rate it, would not come to learn what good Art is. Let those who draw and yes, even those who don’t draw, be your critics. There is room for the artist and room for those who critique as well. Critiques should never disappoint an artist. A a critique, should always be used as a tool to learn from another, where one’s art can stand to improve. It is how artists become better and better. Over time, you become your own honest critic and you will improve because of it. Sometimes a critique may be delivered with compassion, other times some dispense it with a touch of sarcasm and at other times it may even be given with a mild case of envy, but regardless of how it is delivered, list it in a journal somewhere and then after a few months, dare to ask that person to come back again and tell you what they think. You will have improved, even if you may get another unexpected critique from that person. Further, you may even strike up a great relationship with someone whom you thought to be one of your worse critics. Welcoming others to critique your work, will desensitize you and because you have chosen to use those critiques as a school for getting better and stronger in your work, you will be a better artist and known to be a better person. Your critiques will know you value and respect them and their crituques. The more one puts their pride aside and lets someone critique their work, the better one will become. While you are learning, go to museums, art galleries and view the works of the classic artists, don’t just stick to one genre or category of art. It’s easy to stick with abstract, although I love abstract art myself, but you learn a lot from the classic painters. This style of painting is envogue again. The Artist Dali, had a way of mixing the classic style of painting with more modern odd modern age elements. He was one of the popular painters who dared to paint in a classic style, even while he introduced very odd paintings. Their is a kind of haunting beauty to them. I saw his rendition of a modern crucifixion. It left an impression on me, that I choose not to share here, but his work was beautiful work, dispite my personal feelings about how the subject matter was depicted.





4. Don’t copy the artwork of other artists. We all paint work that my have some deficiencies or imperfections. The greatest artists still do. Upon copying another astist’s work, you may be copying a possible mistake, it may or may not be obvious but there may be a deficiency that might have been well covered up in a portrait. Learn to paint from life and from what you see. Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa’s background is uneven and anybody who has an eye for detail can see that the horizon on the right is not aligned with the horizon on the left. He might have done it intentionally. I don’t know, but work from your own real life surroundings or hire a model, or ask a friend to pose for you in a flesh colored Danskin leotard. Start working from life poses and try starting with one minute poses for a period of ten minutes, then do two five minutes poses, then do two ten minute poses and then do two 20 minute poses.

Practice this every other day and if you can’t try doing this at least once a week for three hours each week. Don’t draw curves or outlines. See the angles of the body and lay those down first as intersecting lines, working on the entire mass, but no curves. Heaven’s I’m sharing this and this is something that I am still mastering. I have been taught to draw this way by Nelson Shanks. It’s not easy believe me I know. I had to unlearn drawing how I used to draw, in order to learn his technique, but it’s paying off and now I don’t know how I managed to draw before learning what I learned in his class. His technique also cuts down on drawing time. If you are in New York, I suggest that you become a part of Nelson Shank’s Class. He is my instructor and a wonderful one to say the least. Ann E. Hall his assistant, is absolutely wonderful instructor too.

Remember, you are alone in the privacy of your own home, so who cares what anyone things about how you are doing during the learning process, but if you want to be critiqued in order to improve, seriously think about taking a drawing class. Have fun and do it. Don’t let frustration get the best of you. It happens to all of us. We all become frustrated. Who knows, you may find that you are better than expected, but what is most important is that no matter what your skill level is or whether your art iss worth anything to someone else, what you have created should have a degree of importance to you, no matter what anybody else has to say about it.

The average person does not think that they can, but I know one can learn how to draw. I have not taught art in a school yet, but I have taught a few people who did not think that they could ever draw beyond stick people, to draw basic drawings. I was able to share with them what it is that I see and how it is that I bring what I see from the eye, to my hand and on to the page or canvass. Yes, with time, patience and a fun approach, I do believe that one can be taught to be a great artist.

Why I created the New York Pod Cafe program.

I am the host of the New York Pod Cafe an internet based radio program.

My reason for creating the NYPC?  It’s simple, I have a natural curiosity about what makes people tick and like the average person, I enjoy being entertained. Whether it is with a new painting, a new conference they’re doing, a focus group that they have started, a movie they made, a story they wrote – I like being entertained. When I see someone who has a special talent or something important to say, I am all eyes and ears. I happen to know that we are all that way too.

My program is a talk show, featuring what others say, do and wish to share. My only wish for this program, is to be able to feature the unique contributions to society that others have made, to the internet audience.   I enjoy the idea of interviewing these incredible people that are out there, some which I know personally.  Their stories are magnificent.  They are writers, fine and artists, music and opera sensations, gospel singers, actors, agents,correspondents,  photographers, designers of art and architecture and people that I myself would be so privileged to learn from through these interviews.

It ingratiates me to listen and to be able to pick the brilliant minds of some of these talented folks.  In the same way that I take delight in learning about others, their interests, their goals and how what they do benefits others, I want the New York Pod Cafe audience to take delight as well.   My desire is also that people listen, not just with their ears. I would like this program to be a complete sensory experience and one that not only stimulates people artistically and intellectually, but one that touches their hearts and their souls as well.

I always  look forward to the privilege of parttaking with each person that I interview.    It  is marvelous for the audience to hear the accounts of the work of my guests and their perspectives in their own words.   It’s easy to see through my program that everyone has something special to contribute in their lives, be it because of a tangible gift, or be it because of a spiritual one and I know that others can only benefit and be edified and lifted up, by the stories featured on the New York Pod Cafe Channel.

New York Pod Cafe Channel, Http://www.newyorkpodcafe.com