


Someone said to me that we live in strange times. Funny though, when weren’t the times strange? It is easy to romanticise about the good old days. When you really look at the past there has been strangeness all along. We have fought in many many wars. We have experienced pandemics and plagues that wiped out large numbers of the population. There have been brutal dictators who took the lives of millions, all in the name of power and fame, or is it infamy. Humans as a lot have been particularly brutal to our Mother Earth, putting themselves above that which provide life for them. This is not just at the hands of the industrialists, it’s you and I, it’s everyone. We drive cars everyday. We jet set to get away form our lives, only finding we have to return to them. We consume goods like no ones business for pleasure; the insatiable need to taste the riches of our own individual successes. None of this is good or bad, it is just what we have done collectively, and collectively we have been swayed by our own arrogance, an ego shell in the form of the roles we play. But wait. There is human qualities that also have allowed us to endure even the hardest and darkest hours on this tiny blue and green dot. We are a resilient bunch, we have overcome so many obstacles and celebrated life when time permits. We praise thee God, the gods, the Creator, the thing that makes this this. We have weathered storms since the beginning of time and before time was time. Now time has stood on its head, by a virus, an obstacle, a messenger, perhaps even a prophet. Days that flew by now take a little longer, things slowing down, this translating into boredom for some. No doubt it would appear that our lives before the pandemic became intertwined with the global economy, codependent on each other to sustain. The desire to always be driven forward, never time to think about, let alone be in the present moment. The present moment an eternity, unchanging, true being, the I house. Nothingness that everything, all this stuff, passes through, coming and going, yet here the I am remains. It is a time to celebrate this life, rediscover our true self, put down our judgements, our guards, a rebirth of cool. Soon calm will follow after the storm. Now let the mind be free.
Note: These are my thoughts and shared thoughts of fellow humans that I have been resonating with during the last few weeks, I have experienced intermittent moments of anger and rage over the things outside of me, outside of my control. Perhaps we all have. We all have our way of dealing or not dealing with that which we face. I have found the hardship and the suffering have opened my heart up. Similar to the lake ice melting, I can hear the cracks, the booms, slowly opening up again after many years of struggle. Thank you Earth, Thank you family, and thank you friends. Thank you. We will be ok. Breathe.
fotoMAhaloness
The sky is full of miracles.
3 herons
hälts minimotion ‘millions of dreams’ with soundscape ‘sky bound’
a bee I did for a buddhy, bee like bee, let it bee…
This group of paintings is representative of the thoughts and feelings that have come and go during this pandemic, moments of anger and emotions, moments of primal instincts, joy, and future visions. Ideas that come and go through this house, inner outer spirit remains true, no change.
one of my roles is care giver for my elderly parents.
sometimes purple haze
life death
here and there
protection
shelter. (hälts painting)
grave with shining light
the source of the light
crystal bokeh
turkey
turkey on the move
life and death
art teacher
parking cancelled
the painter man….. hälts minimotion featuring a painting made in the pandemic era.
In the back of my mind, something does not seem right.
by hälts 3 Comments
I don’t have a whole lot of words to express. I could on about how I am feeling, or talk about the weather. Or, I might say that winter has been a chore, and most certainly not a bore. I embraced the winter this year, I let old things die, and revived a passion for my painting. I spent time with the elders, made them meals, spent time listening to their stories. It is strange that we write off the elders, and treat them with such little respect. Instead we blame them for this and that, the climate, the state of the environment, and so on. They did the best the could do. There is no reconciliation without first respecting the fact that the new generations will also make mistakes, and that in the future, they will be the ones who bare the weight. I myself, my little self, think as long as the children are laughing and playing, and that the earth provides us with life, that we ought to celebrate this life, and consider how lucky we are to be here. I know I am.
If you so happen to love the art you see here I invite you to please visit my new a revived website halts art online store, click here!
Once they are gone, they are gone, and no amount of money will ever bring them back. We as a specie are fast to throw money after devatstaing events thinking money will fix the crisis, it won’t, it never has, and it never will. We are more dependent on money than we are oxygen it would seem in these crazy times. Look what money has done for us, it has elected terrible leaders and made a few people very rich while the rest of us do their biddings so that they can see their stocks grow. What a conundrum we live in, what false beliefs we have perpetuated throughout the ages that money and wealth is king, Earth is is the real KING, the real QUEEN, Earth is the real deal, the rest is just a belief that has no real value at the end of the day.
fotoMahaloness
All artwork seen here is made by hälts, if anyone is interested in these artworks please do reach out by commenting or by email.
thermal whale featuring critically endangered right whales, a mother and calf, the thermal background is the changing ocean temperature and chemistry due to climate change
Creator mural 2016 with whale gliding through an egg that holds the universe.
Mawyucan (whirlwind place) 40×60 in. acrylic mixed media on canvas with a whale just to the right of the subject
Viking mural 2019 with whales in the lower right, subliminal messages are always evil like advertisement like to use, in this case a subtle hint of whale is done purposefully to suggest they have nearly vanished.
There is no such thing as duality, another made up concept that we fight and kill for, what is the point of this?
I spent my days with a woman unkind, it left me gutted and with a heart unkind. I am going to go to Mexico to start again, going to ride them green waves, drink coconut water and take my chances on the big wet plane. -an anonymous surfer/traveller/artist/maybe writer left written on a roll of toilet paper in a baño in Mexico, 2016
Life shows up when it wants, and how it wants. The chaos gets intense, hold on. If you can ride it out and stay calm in thee fury, you will make it. Be prepared for anything. The mind being a powerful tool, can also fool, and easily throw you onto another path. That’s ok, it happens to everyone, we all have stories to tell. These events shape our lives, however is it not so that shapes are just an illusion. Peel away the layers of perceived self, and there is a fragile thing called life, here one moment gone the next without your knowing, or controlling. To ridicule another by projecting past mistakes onto them is the antithesis to kindness. The only way to forgive is to let those wounds heal in their own time. The path to kindness is right under your feet, but do be aware of smoke and mirrors. For in the shadows are obstacles that have defeated even the best of human.
fotoMahaloness
Old stuff….
a magic bus I painted, here in the halfway mark
cosmic buddha
Mexican Reverie c.2009 In the early days I was drawn to the abstract expressive, it really depends on the environment and is definitely a painting style that requires a proper studio, I left as much paint on the house I rented as I did on canvases
paintings come, paintings go
wearable art I made from back in the day c.2006, it made it as far as New York City where a few lucky souls own a hälts original.
a commercial spray job I did in Mexico c.2017…overdue for a new face
back when, live art, no sleep, grizzly bear, tutus, and unwavering commitment
Presently…
I have been working on new paintings, experiencing personal transformations, while also take care of my elders.
then and now, weird
spiders love the art
emptiness
vastness
the eagle soars
ice lake mountain
No matter what I write here, it will be the truth of that moment, even if I want to hide the things that don’t appear so Mahaloness… everything has its beauty, the good, the bad, the ugly, there is nothing to hide, nothing to feel ashamed of, because at the end of the day I am just like you, human, here to make mistakes, and occasionally miracles. There is an old saying, countless mistakes makes something beautiful.
BC East Koots winter life, I enjoy being present with Nature as much as possible.
Current Art including painting WIP’s and also revamping my website…. relaunch in Spring 2020 ❤️💚💛
The past year has come and gone, here are some remnants in the form of paintings made in the intensity. Perhaps life comes in sets of waves, with small runners, smooth and clean, and fluctuating outside monsters that seemingly come out of no where. Stress was a factor for me, with many life events leaving their mark, still I am here, and can say I overcame much of it, with lingering nuggets that like everything else will eventually return to the sea. I do plan on working on continuing to write as things come to me. For now this post is a visual time capsule, things that inspired me, commissions, and turning life’s lemons into lemonade. For those of you interested, I do have a website online shop that you can check out via the link. haltsart.com (click here)
Also if there is any questions, comments or interest in any of these works, please do leave a message, I am more than happy to be of service.
Behind the work, the paintings, there is a human. Life experience and the universal. Humbled, but not humble. I have been tempted to believe that what I do has no value, somehow unimportant, overlooked, underrated, a luxury item, privy to the few. No mind, let those think what they want to think. One says you should do this, meanwhile never stopping to see the painted canvas right under their nose. I am no lesser than those crowned as important, albeit quiet, one hears more in the silence. I have no regrets for taking this path, and would not trade it in for anything this world has to offer. I am fine with dying with all my artwork, a painting sold does not change a thing. These marks I make come from my heart and soul, an inner spirit unwavering to what life brings. Mind wants to say you’ve had enough, tears that fill an ocean, brought back to life as rain. Those who have witnessed the magic how I do love dear. I don’t believe in hope, I don’t believe in hype. I don’t make art for fun except when it is. I don’t believe in what most people tell me, I do as inner spirit says. I don’t expect you to understand this, I don’t want to explain because you want me too. I trust in art and the I am. There is no planning for the future, no ten year plan. There is no what’s before me, nor the illusion of the past. Look beyond the superficial, and see there is grit, there is sorrow and there is pain, there is love, even when it rains. Lovingly transformed into beautiful art, for a garden grows from the waste of what is left behind. I am who I am, a reislient , heart strong, empathetic, no fool to the game, human being to my last breath.
‘SLO’ painting acrylic on canvas 2018, a 2 year painting project, available
‘Mawyucan’ acrylic and mixed media on canvas, I do actually know the subject in this painting, or at least one time I did, available
I like to go to remote places to paint, somewhere in Oaxaca Mexico.
and connect with beautiful humans
sometimes solitary, sitting quietly with canvas.
the silent assassin at work.
here one moment, gone the next.
ULLR bar mural Invermere BC 2019 Part 1
ULLR bar mural part 2
underrated
full ULLR bar mural 2019 likely will keep adding elements.
masking a mask
sometimes I set up lights
Be well a friend said to me
Thank you
You too
My friend.
💛 stay golden
special treat part 3 of the ULLR bar mural mini motion series.
Never give up.
The I am loves you.