Monday, February 12, 2018

Twiggs Studio * Pansies in Smokey Blue Original Oil Painting

Study of Pansies in Smokey Blue, 8x8, Oil on Canvas, Etsy


I'm slowly perusing my way through this humbling, hard to digest book. In the book, Ryan Holiday tells how the media lures us with lies and rumors and their motives for doing so.  He tells how they need you to click to their page because the more clicks their page gets, the more they can sell ads for.  Whatever gets you to click - that's their job.  They are working for a paycheck like everyone else. Essentially, their job, isnt to report facts as we would like to believe but collect clicks, page views, impressions.  

Joe Friday would never make it in our world. 


Like gristle in a steak.  Mold on an otherwise sweet and juicy strawberry.  Or a chunk in your milk.  eeew - we bite, we follow links, we read, share and re-tweet (well, I dont re-tweet) until rumors become "facts" by the sheer nature of "everybody is saying it".  Like driving by an accident.  It's hard to look away, so we click.  Maybe the article is boring after all so we stop reading and venture elsewhere, but we already clicked, we landed on their page, they got their impression, page view, click, so they did their job.  The advertisers are happy. The blogger is happy.  The reader rarely knows nobody dared to fact check the pack of lies they just digested.  The cycle continues.


 I stumbled across Ryan Holiday while shopping for a workshop on Creative Live on how to use Etsy.  Scrolling through the "sale" page I came across the workshop "Smart PR for Artists & Entrepreneurs" with Ryan Hoilday.  Okay, I'll bite.  So I watched his blurb video and was intrigued.  But first, I thought, I better read his book to see what he's all about.  


So instead of spending the first part of my mornings studying, reading Southwest Art magazine, Hawthorne on Painting, [insert miscellaneous art publication here], I spend them reading this book.  Etsy workshop delayed.   

And it's all fact. Absolutely true.  After all the guy says, trust me....I'm lying.  :/

BTW,  Pansies are back and I'm filling my studio with them!