In a world torn by political, ethnic and religious conflict, only art has the power to unify, inspire, elevate, and heal. Our institutions make claims on our attitudes and loyalty; it is intrinsic in their nature to direct our energies towards fulfilling their collective goals. They are self-perpetuating. By limiting our perspective, they often divide us from each other. At the extreme, they may even split us from our deepest and most authentic selves. Though serving in many cases, a positive purpose, institutions are agenda-driven. Thus they may steer us away from self-knowledge and personal responsibility when emphasis on image, hierarchy, dogma or power, overrides more constructive human concerns.

Art, on the other hand, both the making and the viewing of it, encourages us to view the world in new ways, as well as to look into ourselves. A world without art would be intellectually and spiritually barren. Imagination makes all things possible, and art is the most profound outgrowth of the human imagination that is not subservient to external purposes (though of course, there are exceptions). Therefore, even in its all its confusing flux and diversity, art is perhaps the “purest” phenomenon among human endeavors.

On a personal level, the richness and mystery of life have intrigued me since I was a child living in rural Pennsylvania. I reveled in the sensuous beauty of forests and rolling hills. Read the rest of this entry »

Cartoons are best illustrated in rough sketch format using your best “free hand” style you can generate.

The funniest cartoons are those created on a spontaneous basis and illustrated as fast as possible. This way you put a better emphasis on what you feel you want to convey in your image.

Cartooning is in bred and is intuitive. Cartoonists are born….not created. So many times it’s been chosen as a “career choice” by those who feel they can compete with those being published.
In all honesty and in no uncertain terms can cartooning be taken lightly. It takes years of practice, hours upon hours of devotion and time spent sketching, using various types of pens and ink pens and cartridge pens to find the right tool in order for the “artist” to express himself.

Many cartoonists never find the right tool, the pen they are most comfortable with. Some cartooning professionals will try brushes like a camel hair brush….good for making bolder lines. Other artists use “crowquill” pens or the type of pen tip that is required to dip into an inkwell or bottle of ink. Some cartoon artists use markers or pens which embellish in indelible (non erasable) ink. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re creative then crafting your party decorations on your own should be fun for you, not to mention the fact that it is also cheaper. However if you happen to be short on time, then it’s better to check decoration supply stores or online discount decoration supplying sites.

Now technology has made things real easy. You even have celebration rental services that bring their own actors, party embellishments and theme backgrounds at a price. You can set your budget and choose. There is something for everyone.

The first step is choosing a party theme. Now theme party decorations would depend on whether it is an adult party or a kid’s party. So a cocktail party decoration will be very different from a children’s party decoration. Some popular adult party decoration themes include, luau party decoration, circus, western, Hollywood 1950s, Roaring 20s, costume party decorations, safari, disco, sports, space, pirate, Las Vegas, Mardi Gras, Arabian Nights, Spanish fiesta, medieval times, rock and roll, futuristic and many more. You name it and they are sure to create it.

Whereas kids generally enjoy comic character and popular culture themes like, Pokemon, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, American Idol, Bob the Builder, Finding Nemo, Dora the Explorer etc. So if you are planning a birthday party decoration or baby party decorations or 1st party decorations then these are great ideas to start with. Read the rest of this entry »

Plasma TV’s have been a common household name, first exploding on the market in the late 1990’s. Compared to what customers were used to, plasma TV display screens were very quickly applauded for the better digital quality that they brought about. Larger plasma televisions can be purchased with size’s up to one hundred and three inches, which make for an excellent movie watching experience.

Plasma TV’s differ greatly from the TV’s of the past, known as CRT’s. A CRT TV uses an electron beam that scans the picture from the top all the way to the bottom by different intervals. This then causes the phosphors to light up, which creates the final picture. A plasma screen uses a transistor electrode for each and every pixel, causing the image to light up much more evenly across the screen.

Plasma televisions are constructed so that the movies you watch feel as if you are watching them in a movie theater. The ratio of plasma TVs are 16:9, which are designed to match up to a person’s natural field of vision. As a result, billions of colors are displayed, creating a smooth picture and details that make the viewer feel like what they are watching is happening in real life. Read the rest of this entry »