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Behind the Painting: Igreja do Cerro Branco (and other small towns)

I grew up in a small town on the coast of Maine, mostly on an island but sometimes on a peninsula near that island, too. The shop doors would open in May and the tourists started trickling in around Memorial Day at the end of the month. Things would turn into a boom from the 4th of July until Labor Day at the beginning of September. When I was growing up, October was quiet but these days leaf peepers come in hoards, making October the busiest month for many. After that the local folks tire and look forward to a

December 9, 2014

Trust in the Process: The Myth of the Right-Left Brain Mentality

Part I of this series is here Part II of this series is here Part III of this series is here The right and left parts of the brain may do certain things, but they don’t operate exclusively. I took this right-brain vs. left-brain test recently and scored 16 out of a possible 21 (there are 22 questions, but one is the same with reversed answers). I’m borderline “moderate” to “strong” right brain, which means I’m supposed to be more creative in my life. There is some truth to this, but a lot of this is also complete bunk. Here’s

December 3, 2014

Trust in the Process: Where Does Creativity Come From?

Part I of this series is here. Part II of this series is here. Where Does Creativity Come From? Count me as skeptical. But skeptical of what is something I’m not really sure about. Where does creativity come from? I have no idea, except I know that it comes from me. I guess maybe it comes from the universe, or the Universe, whichever you feel better about. Or maybe it comes from within. Or maybe it’s put there, inside of me, but count me as skeptical. Who Should Take the Credit? Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame says that

December 1, 2014

Music and Its Inspiration in the Studio

I’m a big music fan. I couldn’t hold a note if you glued it to my hand, but I certainly try when working in the studio. In general I’m most inspired by Indie bands such as The Mars Volta, Cloud Cult, or Sleater-Kinney, among others. I also have a lot of New Wave and Mod-Rock on my playlist. Even Flamenco gets me in the mood more than once per week. For some strange reason, however, I’ve lately been heavily inspired by outlaw country – mostly songs like Waylon Jennings’s Ain’t No God in Mexico or Willie Nelson’s Pancho and Lefty.

November 25, 2014

Behind the Painting: Calle en Ardales

I’ve been climbing for about 15 years now. That’s so hard to believe when I look back on those first few years. The man who introduced me to climbing passed away during a climbing accident not long after he got me hooked. On the day I found out, I went climbing. I still can’t tell you why. I guess I just felt it was the right thing to do.For many years I wanted to go climbing in El Chorro, in the Malaga region of Andalucia. My then girlfriend was studying in Sevilla, so I loaded up the empty bank account

November 20, 2014

My Favorite Artists: The Restoration of Matisse’s Swimming Pool

Henri Matisse has long been one of my favorite artists. This is in spite of the fact that he probably isn’t my favorite artist to study or even look at. He has probably influenced me more than any other artist. I never chose to use bold colors, but it’s certainly a strength of mine, and Matisse’s paintings, particularly A Glimpse of Notre-Dame in the Late Afternoon, absolutely helped me to understand that my use of colors works in the public eye. When to Use Archival Materials One thing that I’ve been concerned about is using archival materials. I’ve done

November 17, 2014

Greg Mason Burns