Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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How do you come up with ideas for paintings?
My imagination is a strange place. I’m not always in control, but I do know how it likes to eat. The menu includes fiction mostly, but also poetry, the occasional history book, images, and new experiences that induce physical sensations (not always pleasant). I like to take long walks. Staycations, Vacations or just breaks from…
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The Memory Police & Other Dangerous Works of Pandemic Art
When I completed reading The Memory Police I had an anxiety attack. Lived experience is gradually dismembered from the periphery to the very core of each inhabitant on the island. They do nothing to stop it. What truly terrified me, however, is the realization that one person, maybe two, on this earth have truly understood…
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Tiny Gallery: September 2020
The Barns of Rosehill has been tremendously supportive with their virtual programming during the pandemic. Although Stomp & Shout is not officially part of their Barnstorming Live Auction, From Ruth’s Drive is included in the virtual event. 30% of the sale of either painting will be donated to the Barns of Rosehill. Come see these…
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Love is NOT Blind
I want to make a book of paintings about Bunny to help others trace the patterns in their lives. With simple questions about what they see in the work, the paintings can reflect some hidden habit or an explanation for emotions that are difficult to bear. What also may be revealed are hidden strengths. The…
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Bunny is Back!
Bunny is back! Here are two favorite prints from the history of Bunny. She’s a thoughtful little Creature! Many of my friends and family adore my creation Bunny. It’s great to see the love via thumbs up and smiley faces. Artists, however, need more than virtual support. Consider supporting your local artist by buying a…
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The Opioid Crisis: Painting a Problem with the Wrong Name
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, killing more people than the AIDS epidemic at its peak. It is a problem, but the name distracts us from the causes. Addicts are ignored when we focus on the drugs. We forget there are multiple steps that lead people to make…
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May I Paint Your Picture?
I wanted to ask the woman waiting on the bench outside our restaurant. “You’re so beautiful. Can I take a photo? I’m a painter.” It worked in Italy, but that woman was Swiss, and “of a certain age.” Past the point of caring what she looked like in the hot sun, holding her watering can in her…
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The Psychology of No!
It’s been almost 130 days. Waves of horse shit fly from every imaginable source. We’re all covered in it. Fake news? How do you discern it? Try using common sense. This is not a witch hunt folks. It’s a sink hole that will, with cosmic providence, swallow every last person with stained fingers and pitcher’s elbow. If…
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Women Who Work?
While working on my most recent painting, the news has been appropriately filled with updates on the subject. We finally have a woman in the White House. Ivanka Trump has an office and access to classified information, though she is not technically serving as a government employee. She will be offering her father, Donald Trump, an independent perspective to…
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Las Meninas 2.0
My most recent painting pays homage to one of the greatest portraits in history. Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez painted Las Meninas in 1656 for King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Maria Anna of Austria. It has been described in many ways, including History’s First Photo-Bomb and the Canonical Masterpiece of Western Painting. It is…
Got any book recommendations?
Nancy Polo 