More progress on OWL

More Progress on OWL

The Previous Post ( before )

Hot Off the Press ( after )

I was able to spend some more 'quality-time' with the OWL painting today. I think I have managed to wrestle the thing into a higher state of being...as in, it really is taking on a life of its own now. It is usually a struggle to take a painting to this level of believ-ability.

Takes a lot of patience and coaxing, even cajoling to get there. You will see what I man when I say there have been advances. Many more selective glazes.

Close-up of face ( ain't he adorable? )

Can you spot the differences between the 'before and after' ?

Skyaak Gets a Glow-On!

Glow-in-the-Dark Skyaak!

Jesse and Dylan Cooke dropped over last night. Dylan was brimming over with excitement. He has created the first Skyaak hack-in kit, and it is a doozer! A little while ago, Dylan and I were playing around with the idea of building a glow-in-the-dark kit that could just be plugged into the existing Skyaak chassis. Well folks, our brilliant young engineer has done it! All ya gotta do is insert the pre-built unit into the rear-end of your Skyaak shaft. It replaces the end-cap. And then you have an outside on-off switch that lets you convert your Skyaak to an awesome glow-in-the-dark unit that you can play around with in sheer darkness.

Dylan has built a sweet little unit that incorporates a switch, the retrofitted end-cap, a little power-plant, a tiny resistor, and a black-light LED. When you switch it on, the rear ring-wing glows like crazy, and the G-Force pods do too. The first pod looks like a little free-floating full-moon in the shaft, and it transmits its bright glow to its neighbor, and that pod passes a diminished light signal along to its neighbor. The effect is just stunning. When the lit-up pods fly through the glow-in-the-dark tape circles that we made to stick each side of the foam hand-grips, the tape circles pulse with a bright light that is supplied by the pods passing through! And when the pods rush to the front, their light transfers an ethereal glow to the front ring-wing. WOW! It is a very dynamic action that shows a direct cause and effect visual treat. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Check out the photo montage that shows the glow-in-the-dark Skyaak from different angles:

These photos are so cool that I can't resist posting another one. A close up so you see how stunning it looks:

Bet you've never seen anything like THIS before!

How about this?




Dylan said that he really enjoyed figuring this out, but more importantly, he emphasized how excited he was to dig in and get the thing engineered. He said that it was like a concrete example of coming up with an idea and then doing something about it that he could be proud of. We just talked about this about two weeks ago and he has now followed through with the inspiration. He told me that he got a lot of satisfaction out of taking the concrete steps toward accomplishing this very cool hack-in project:

Owl are you?

The Owl Painting Re-visited

After dropping the mural off in Nipawin, I decided to take a little 'painting holiday', that is, to spend some time working on one of my own. In this case, the Owl popped up on the radar.

MURALS as ECONOMIC ENGINE cont.

MURALS as ECONOMIC ENGINE cont.

Bright and early this morning, my great friend Jim and I loaded up the four new re-painted panels, the two returning panels and the four reject panels for the historic mural "Nipawin CPR Station c. 1949" for a total of ten panels on the back of Jim’s big, fancy lux-mobile 4WD diesel truck. The machine barely broke out a sweat, running like the heavy panels ( 800 pounds at least) were as light as a feather. Our trip up to Nipawin from Manitou Beach ( about a three-hour cruise) was a breeze...zero difficulties. The drop-off at the Liquor Store (patron of the original mural I painted back in 2000) went super-smoothly. Within an hour or so we had met up with the president of Murals of Nipawin, settled our accounts, and were off and running again back homeward bound by three o’clock. We’d heard that there was a ‘winter storm warning’, so we decided to hussle back home to beat the weather system.

The finished mural panels arrived safe and sound at Nipawin

Man, were we ON schedule. We rolled in back at the Beach by about 6:00, before dark and certainly well ahead of the storm front. So it’s all good. Thought I would post pictures of the 100% finished mural (segment) as well as pictures of the entire mural.

L to R: Ken Barr, mngr of Nipawin Liquor Store; Michael Gaudet, Sandy Syrjanen, president, Murals of Nipawin.

The entire mural looks like this from the south-west corner.

And this is the south-facing wall. The mural is a total of 12 feet in height by 56 feet running length.

Pop in to visit Gallery Gaudet at ArtAffectsDesign.com to view selected examples of both commissioned and personal artwork. Anyone interested in an original work of art including mural projects is invited to contact me. My personal contact information is easy to find on any or all of my web-sites. Or just Google Michael R. Gaudet and see what you come up with!

Juan Mann's Free Hugs Campaign

Brendan has unearthed a sweet little nugget of a concept that actually brought tears to my eyes...not once but twice! First tears of joy followed by tears of an even greater joy. It is quite the emotional ride, friends. To read the whole story, watch the video and to meet Juan Mann, the man behind the idea click here. Of course I must mention "All the Same" , the very cool track that Sick Puppies contributed to this project.

I had steered my daughter Ilara over to TIE to see The Secret, but as was stated, it was available for a limited time only and the little window had closed. However, Ilara was not to be daunted by this and went ahead to enjoy the “Free Hugs” flick and then passed on a tip back to me to check it out!

Well I did, and let me tell you, I can imagine how something of this sweetness could easily go viral. I immediately invited my wife Sharon to watch it and she was so struck by the beautiful message that she watched it twice.

Thanks Brendan, for ferreting out and posting his little jewel. It really touched all of us!

Oprah...the Reaction to The Secret

My friend Brendan O'Keefe, creator of TheIntentionEngine.com just sent along a link to the youTube post of Oprah's show that aired yesterday. I was in the middle of a busy painting schedule at the time, but Sharon called from work and told me to turn on the TV. So I did, and listened from the studio while I was working. I must say, it was yet another amazing series of clarifications/revelations that I was truly grateful to hear. There is SO much vibrant energy flowing through this whole discussion now...on a global scale!

I listened to Oprah's interview again, this time un-distracted by my work, this AM, by clicking on the link that Brendan provided. Brendan certainly has his finger on the pulse of what is happening in the LoA community. Please click here if you are interested in the latest buzz!

Murals as Economic Engine

Murals as Economic Engine

The well-documented success of towns like Chemainus, British Columbia points to the unassailable fact that artists, musicians, theater groups and all things cultural are much more than fluff or window-dressing. They are actually very powerful economic engines!

I was not that surprised to hear that the economic activity generated by cultural endeavors in Canada far outstrips sports-related economic activity. In Canada, and I am pretty confident that this rule of thumb may be applied universally, cultural and artistic activities are the #1 source of new money that flows through our economy. That should come as no surprise when one thinks of the monstrous success of Harry Potter as one very obvious example. After all, folks, JK Rowling started off not that many years ago with nothing more than the germ of a creative idea in her mind to create a fantasy world of wizards and dragons, alchemy and magic. Let’s not forget that she is, first of all, an artist. A world-famous, billionaire artist.

Recently, I was commissioned by Murals of Nipawin and the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority to re-paint a section of a mural of an antique steam locomotive puling into a railway station, with passengers disembarking. The mural (overall dimensions are 12' high by 52' long) had been originally commissioned back in 2000 for the Town of Nipawin, Saskatchewan. It was brought to my attention some time ago that four of the twenty-one panels had suffered mysterious paint failure. The paint had peeled away right down to the substrate. We concluded after much careful thought that there must have been some sort of greasy contamination on the surface of the material that somehow went un-noticed at the time that the panels were originally primed.

Determined to make it right, I agreed to re-paint the afflicted panels. After all, this is one of my best-loved and most viewed murals in these parts, and I had no wish for it to remain in its compromised condition.

The mural panels have now been totally re-painted on brand new material, with professional-quality artists’ acrylics. This time around, I am taking the added precaution of applying coats of a specially formulated varnish, designed specifically for exterior murals painted with acrylics. This varnish has built-in ultra-violet inhibitors as well as an extremely durable, scuff-proof finish. ( It is also designed to provide graffiti-proofing...spray paint can be easily removed from this material)

Here is a detail of the nearly finished re-paint.


This particular motif prompted me to propose the visual metaphor:

MURALS as ECONOMIC ENGINE.

P.S. Go ahead and check out selections of both commissioned and personal artwork at ArtAffectsDesign.com View my online portfolio at Gallery Gaudet.

P.P.S. To see the Historic Railway Station mural work-in-progress visit my eSnips site at:
www.esnips.com/web/HistoricMuralSeries

‘Wisdom of the Mystic Masters’

Please note:

I am re-reading the excellent book by Joseph J. Weed called ‘Wisdom of the Mystic Masters’. There is a very true-ringing resonance with a lot of the ideas expounded by the creators of The Secret, and the proponents of the Law of Attraction. Read in this light, Weed provides some very powerful insights into the Law. Thought you might enjoy the following snippets:

Quotes from ‘Wisdom of the Mystic Masters’ by Joseph J. Weed, Copyright 1968, Parker Publishing, NY. :

Page 64...

"Actually, its easier to create new things, new wealth, than compete with others for something that already exists. There is so much richness available to you, waiting just to be tapped by your mind, that it is wasteful of your energy to struggle for an area of wealth already claims or sought for by another. If you must have what someone else desires or already possesses there is something seriously wrong with your own emotional structure which I seriously urge you to repair."

Page 67...

"Now, let us proceed with our study of thought. Each thought at its inception produces a dual effect. First, there is a vibratory wave, a radiation from the center, not unlike the radiation of a radio wave from a broadcasting tower. This wave moves outward equally in all directions with gradually diminishing intensity which varies with the distance. It continues to emanate from the mind of the thinker as long as the thought is held but it ceases instantly when the thinking changes or stops. Like all vibrations, these mentally induced vibrations tend to reproduce themselves whenever the opportunity presents itself. You are familiar with the experiment in physics in which a tuning fork is made to vibrate by striking its corresponding note on the piano. In this same manner do these mental vibrations provoke in another mental body their own rate of motion. In other words they tend to arouse in a receiving mind thoughts of the same type of those of the originating thinker. The distance to which such thought waves penetrate and their impact upon the minds of others depend upon the strength and clarity of the original thought."

Page 68...

"...Everyone who thinks high thoughts pours out the kind of vibrations that tend to stimulate a similar level of thoughts in others. They act vigorously upon minds accustomed to high thought but also affect to some degree every mind within the sphere of their radiation. This tends to awaken duller minds to higher possibilities and to stimulate those not ordinarily given to spiritual ideas, so that everyone who thinks on a high plane is doing a form of missionary work even though he may not be aware of it."

Page 68...

"The second form of the two effects of thought is the creation of a form. As has been pointed out, we move in a sea of energy which is most receptive to thought. Every impulse sent out from the mind clothes itself immediately in a vehicle of this vitalized matter. Thus, the thought becomes for a time, long or short, a quasi-living creature with the thought force acting as its soul and the vivified essence acting as its body. These strange forms exist on emotional as well as mental levels and some writers refer to them as “elementals”. If the thought is about someone else, the thought form (or elemental) moves to that person and discharges its qualified energy upon his mental body. If the thought be about one’s self, as the vast majority of the average person’s thoughts are, then it hovers about ready to react upon its creator whenever he is in a relaxed or passive state."

And then there’s this absolute zinger, gleaned from page 63:

"For those that would learn to employ the power of the mind the injunction is given, “Seek, find and follow a pure line of thought.” The Hindu scriptures call this one-pointed thought. As you are aware the word “pure” is here used not as the opposite of “unclean”. It has no reference to morals or sin, but the sense of “uncluttered thought”. A great teacher once said, “Achievement is impeded primarily not so much by doubt as by inchoate thoughts generated by old habits.”

The desire for mental power should be as an arrow fitted to a bow. It must be launched with a mighty effort and the aim at the desired target must be perfect. But even after a successful launching it may sometimes be deflected by unexpected obstacles. Thought is the arrow and every thought is potentially creative. Select the best targets, and may your arrows reach their marks. "

The Intention Engine Review

“The Intention Engine” Review
by Michael R. Gaudet
The Aha Experience

The Intention Engine...Wish no more. Manifest Now!
Tools to assist you to realize your goals and dreams

Every once in a while, some altruistic genius comes up with an idea for a service that has the potential to offer true benefit for anyone that has the hutzpah to take advantage of what is on the table. Brendan O’Keefe , Melbourne, Victoria-based songwriter, musician, producer, graphic artist, and web-page developer, has done just this with his latest brainchild called ‘The Intention Engine’. Falling in step with the latest big buzz in the world of self-improvement, namely the runaway hit movie "The Secret" (created and produced by fellow Aussie, Rhonda Byrne), Brendan has come up with a highly beneficial web-based (*FREE*) apparatus that encourages subscribers to take a series of steps that solidify their own personal ‘intentions’ in the form of an online journal.

Participants are guided through the process with humor, compassion and purpose. One of the concepts that Brendan raises that I found most impressive is the salient fact that once we have actually taken the time to articulate our intention(s) in writing, then we are 99% there!

While this may seem self-evident, I found it to be very affirming. Just imagine... the very act of taking the time in the privacy of your own mind to really focus intently on what it is that you want to see improved in your life, your relationships, your work environment, your society or whatever, is an all-important step towards accomplishing what it is that you have selected as your personal challenge.

Brendan has laid out a colorful, user-friendly system that facilitates the process of zeroing in on your heart-felt intention that you wish to see manifested. He goes many steps beyond this by formatting deeper visualization techniques including metaphors for the realization of your most cherished dreams as a sort of screen-play with its own unique set of producers, actors, support staff, setting, props, and most important, a very specific time-line.

Beyond this, Brendan facilitates your creation of a powerful tool called a “Vision Board”. As he states, “ The right brain loves imagery!”. So, not only are you given the splendid opportunity to focus ( maybe for the first time!) on your most cherished aspirations, you are then invited to cap it all off by posting images that reinforce the power of your convictions. To compliment this awesome tool, you will also find: Goal Mapping, Law of Attraction, Master Key System, Sedona Method, Creative Visualization, Auto Affirmations Generator, Auto Ideal Scene Generator, Tag Cloud, Releasing Statement Generator and more.

When you explore the other areas of The Intention Engine, you will find some remarkable resources that include some of the world’s best-loved self-improvement gurus such as The Dalai Lama, Wayne W. Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and A.C. Ping. As well, you can listen to selected podcasts that focus on the Power of Intention, and watch streaming video presentations that are both insightful and inspiring. There are also links ( for a very limited time we are informed ) to view the famous movie "The Secret". You can also scoop up the flicks “ What the Bleep Do We Know?” and “ Down the Rabbit Hole”. What a power-house of life-changing resources!

The Intention Engine is a portal that offers all of this and much more. Anyone who has a burning desire to improve their life on many deep, profound levels will find much exciting and stimulating material here for their enlightenment.

I believe that The Intention Engine is the best resource I have discovered on the Internet, bar none, for reeling in your aspirations to make a better life for yourself at this time. Really, there’s no time like right now to get a handle on how you can dramatically improve your overall life condition and circumstances. My own personal motto is “Cherish the Precious Present” and it is my heart-felt conviction that The Intention Engine is a powerful, riveting tool-chest that facilitates this affirmation in a uniquely sticky way.

I spoke with Brendan recently on a tele-conference and he was excited to tell us that The Intention Engine had garnered over 30 new sign-ups in the past 48 hours. Obviously, he has created a valuable and very timely tool-chest that is gaining a world-wide recognition that is richly deserved. For my part, I extend sincere congratulations and kudos to this guy for pulling this intricate, elegant resource together. May The Intention Engine serve its ambitious goals with drive and purpose...to fire the imaginations of people around the world who are committed to creating a more intentional mind-set while helping us to organize and streamline our higher purpose in life. That is: to create perpetual, mutually enriching enterprises that have the potential to elevate our collective consciousness to a higher vibrational plane.

Montreal Jazz Festival Painting

Montreal Jazz Festival by M.R.Gaudet 1985 ( N.F.S.)

After listening to Brendan O'Keefe's groovy tracks last night on one of his MP3 download sites, I got to thinking...why not post a picture of my all-time most popular painting? After all, this painting has a 'back-beat'...and a spine!

It's called 'Montreal Jazz Festival' and was painted when I was living in Montreal and working at an architectural firm back in the mid-eighties.

This post is a gift to Brendan, to say " Thank-You" for the heart-wrenching, spine-tingling tunes. I will ask Brendan if I can post a link to some of his music on this blog, so you can listen in as well!

Hey man, I still got my groove thang going on...bring on the expression, baby!

Michael

P.S. Stay tuned for an expanded review of The Intention Engine.

" I Believe" CD Single MP3 Download

A couple of days ago I was speaking with my friend Kathy Baker, founder of www.allinteractivesolutions.com from Melbourne, Australia via Skype when the phone rang.

It was my partner Gene Angers calling. He was bubbling over with excitement as he announced that the MP3 download of our CD Single 'I Believe' had started to generate sales. This was a breakthrough moment that I was pretty excited to share with Kathy. All you have to do is click on the ITunes link above to download the song...it's only a buck, so everybody can afford it.

This positive, affirming message will be a welcome addition to your IPod play-list. Give it a whirl.

FYI, we are in the process of setting this thing up so that it can become a fund-raising mechanism for certain projects... more details to follow as things firm up.

Future Technology and Aircraft Types

Click here to see a terrific article by Dr. Ilan Kroo, Professor of Aerospace Engineering ( I assume) at Stanford University. I am a big fan of Dr. Kroo's writing and ideas. He is a leading expert on the 'Ring-Wing' flight concept. After all, my Skyaak invention is a hybrid 'ring-wing' design. I ran across Dr. Kroo's work by googling ' ring-wing aircraft', 'annular wing' and 'closed wing'. Any aviation science buffs out there will enjoy this article. FYI, it is written in populist language and laviously illustrated!

Enjoy!

Michael.