Above is a marker drawing of Carl Jung, whose influence shaped my thinking in all kinds of important ways. This drawing was the basis for my oil portrait of Jung, which was the basis for my AI adaptation of Jung's portrait. I can't remember if I've shared this drawing here on Hive before.
Someone wrote something weird on my Facebook wall today. A guy named Stephen Sugarman wrote:
Mark
Ya need to learn more about NFTs and block chain trading
Love to n the list so I can coMe to events
Stephen
Gallery13
Sugarman friended me a couple of weeks ago. I guess he runs a local art gallery. Or ran one, as Gallery 13 appears online to be permanently closed, though a Facebook page suggests that the gallery may still be active in some capacity, such as sponsoring events. This message to me is the only communication I've ever received from Sugarman. The content of the message leads me to believe that he doesn't know me at all. And maybe his account has been taken over by bots.
It's also possible that this is just how Sugarman communicates. Some people revert to adolescence when talking with others online, and maybe he's one of those people. Whatever the case may be, I replied politely that I've been in the crypto space for years and am always happy to learn new things about it. Maybe he'll respond with something more intelligible and constructive than his first message. Maybe he'll even turn out to be an important contact.
Elsewhere in the art world, my mind was recently blown by the Doodle House. A man who goes by Mr Doodle turned a whole property into an intricate art piece. The project took two years. The place is incredible. Here's a BBC video about it. I think the world would be a better place if a large percentage of properties were art projects of a similar caliber.
Of course, a project like the Doodle House requires vast sums of money to pull off. There's the cost of the property, the cost of living for years while the project is underway, and all the rest. Mr Doodle is internationally renown and his work routinely goes for six figures, so he could afford to just doodle for two years. Not all of us are so lucky.
When I was younger and painting full time, my role in the art world was peripheral, but clear. Now, as a mere hobbyist, I feel more like a spectator than a player. I don't mind this. Mostly, I find it freeing, because there's zero pressure to produce commercially viable products. At the same time, it's exciting, in large part due to accessible AI and emerging NFT markets.
These days, I can look at the unfortunate painting on my easel and worry little for its future. No client is waiting for the piece. If I can fix it, great, but if not, then no one ever needs to see it. Whatever happens is fine, and I appreciate the freedom in that.
Read my novels:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is available as a web book on IPFS.
- The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
See my NFTs:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt that goes with my book by the same name.
- History and the Machine is a 20 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on my series of oil paintings of interesting people from history.
- Artifacts of Mind Control is a 15 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on declassified CIA documents from the MKULTRA program.