The Art of Being
I am a self-taught artist who works in acrylic paints and collage. Painting is an excellent way of mastering the art of being!
This lens is a collection of art-related links and information.
More of my work can be found at:
Portraits
The People in My Life
Faces fascinate me as an artist. Eyes, in particular, hold the essence of the individual. When I have no-one else to paint, I use models from catalogues and magazines.
Still Lifes
The Subject of Objects
I love to paint glass and study the way in which light interacts with it. Other favourite objects of mine include clocks, fruit and different shaped pots.
Nature Scenes
Everything Under the Sun
I also enjoy painting scenes in nature, such as trees, birds in flight, and cows or horses in fields.
Painting People
Reading about Art
1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 12/02/2008) 
Abstract Painting: Concepts and Techniques
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/02/2008)
Painting People: Figure Painting Today
Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)
The New Acrylics: Complete Guide to the New Generation of Acrylic Paints
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/02/2008)
How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters
Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/02/2008)
Art-Related Links
- Loaded Brush
- A personal website of my artwork. See my latest pieces.
- One in a Hundred
- The website of artist Aidan Shingler.
- Wet Canvas
- A great place to connect with other artists.
- Photography of Stuart Baker-Brown
- The brilliant photography of Stuart Baker-Brown.
- Self Portrait Gallery
- A blog of self-portraits of various artists.
- My Exhibitions on Wooloo.org
- Wooloo.org is a site which provides opportunities for artists to showcase their work. Here is where I exhibit my work.
Schizoaffective Disorder
Schizophrenia and a Mood Disorder
In 2002, I was diagnosed as having schizoaffective disorder after many years of illness.
See my A Mind Taut with Pain lens
Schizoaffective disorder is a combination of a mood disorder (major depression or manic depression) and a thought disorder (schizophrenia) with at least two weeks in which only schizophrenia symptoms occur.
My Illness in my Art
Much of my work is influenced by my schizoaffective disorder. Intrusive thoughts (completely unwanted thoughts seemingly inserted by an outside force, usually of terrible violence which in no way reflect my thinking), hallucinations, delusional beliefs, negative symptoms, and mood swings can all be seen in my paintings. Destruction in Creation
I have destroyed many pieces of my work in a fit of rage. Creating artwork often prevents me from destroying myself. For me, there is a delicate balance between creation and destruction.
Schizophrenia Links
- Schizophrenia.com
- A comprehensive and extremely useful site on schizophrenia.
- Mental Health Care
- Great information about mental health and mental illness.
- The Wife of a Schizophrenic
- A super blog about living with someone who suffers from schizophrenia.
- Mind Riddles
- A good blog written by a father whose son has schizophrenia.
- My Brain Disorder Lens
- A lens on schizophrenia-spectrum disorders created by me.
- A Mind Taut with Pain
- My first book - now available as a paperback - on my life with schizoaffective disorder. Part One takes a diary format spanning two years of my life. Part two contains factual information about this disorder.
- The Artwork of Kyle Reynolds
- Take a look at some fabulous artwork!
- A Sense of schizophrenia
- My own blog on my life with schizoaffective disorder.
I'd love to hear from you...
Thank you for visiting The Art of Being. I welcome your comments, opinions and suggestions. What would you like to see on this lens? And, of course, I would love it if you would go to the top and give me some stars!
ginger wrote
Love your art........hard to believe you are self taught! I am BPD - do you know of any BPD art/artists out there? I draw/paint - but can only find schizoaffective/schizophrenic/bipolar art/artists..........no borderline personality's.........If you know of any BPD art - I'd like to see it!!
Posted November 26, 2008
Handmade-Indian-Collection wrote...
Nice...
Really Beautiful Paintings....
Good Work
Posted August 17, 2008
BethErickson wrote...
Acrylic?!... that seems hard for me to do myself great work. I can only handle a pen and water colors :)
Posted August 07, 2008
PhilippaKing wrote...
Hi Violatoroger, Thanks for your comments. I usually finish my paintings in one or two days. I use mainly acrylics though I am keen on collage, too.
Posted August 06, 2008
