Painting Life

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If a poem is each time new, then it is necessarily an act of discovery, a chance taken, a chance that may lead to fulfillment or disaster.” ~ A.R. Ammons

I had a fabulous weekend! I had a chance to visit with artist Quang Ho at the opening of his exhibit at the Steamboat Art Museum on Friday evening. On Saturday, I was among an intimate audience of 40 or 50 people who sat mesmerized as Quang painted a portrait of another artist, Richard Galusha of Wildhorse Gallery http://bit.ly/rSVLei

Quang spent a generous 2 ½ hours creating and teaching about the intricacies of a good painting composition. During that time, I gained a new understanding about the art of life, from a painter’s point of view, by a few key and valuable statements he made. 

Paintings are stories of ‘”shadow and light”, Quang related. “One is the plot and the other the subplot. How much attention an artist gives to the spaces in between determines how rich the painting is.” The artist also went on to explain that there are variations of value in the light. 

‘Painting is problem solving, and if you make a decision is it always correct.” He also advised fellow artists. 

Last night I began to ponder on the artist’s statements and how we can relate it to our own lives. Our life structure is birth to death, and then there landmarks in between. During the spaces in between, we can focus our energy either negatively or positively. Depending on the choices we make and values we have, life can be rich and fulfilling or not. 

There is truth to be learned in Quang’s statement about making decisions, too. “How can we even tell if a decision in life is right or wrong if we don’t make one at all?” I ask myself. 

Quang Ho has some extraordinary insight and inspiration to share with artists not only about painting but also about the human condition. His life as an artist and his experiences as a human being have paved the way for a lot more to tell! To learn more about this artist, please visit my blog posting of November 29 entitled Historic Setting Filled with Jewels. http://bit.ly/v8zctP

Quang is well worth following. He has promised he has a whole lot more to share with his fans! And from my interview with him, so will I! Stay tuned in upcoming weeks to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com

Thank you for your generosity, Quang Ho. I enjoyed meeting you, in person, so much.

These independent thoughts, words and views are brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Bringing Behind the Scenes Looks

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Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail Devers 

What do you get when you put together art, religion, crisis, history and architecture together? The basis for a great televised mini-series, of Ken Follett’s novel Pillars of the Earth, adapted for film. 

Tonight and tomorrow (12/2 and 12/3/11) , on the Channel known for bringing outstanding behind the scenes Specials about films to viewers everywhere, a look at the making of the Pillars of the Earth  mini-series will be featured! Don’t miss out. 

For broadcast times and channels, please visit the website of Reelz Channel. Here you go, I will hook you up! http://bit.ly/rYU4km

Congratulations go out to the crew that brings these Weekly Specials to broadcast on a regular basis! I am proud to say, our favorite filmmaker is part of the team, as lead editor. Way to go Marc! A Shout Out to you and the others dedicated at  Reelz to bringing outstanding productions to the viewers. For more information on the visual effects and film editing work of Marc R Leonard, please visit http://bit.ly/tWdLnk.

Have a great weekend everyone! I will be back on Monday with more independent words, thoughts and views on www.AllThingsFulfilling.com.

Art Appearing on Boughs

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The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands.’  ~Robert M. Pirsig 

It is surely nearing Christmas time! When the Kiwanis Club of Steamboat begins selling their annual ornament at places around town, the holidays are drawing close. Beginning this weekend, the ornament will be available for buying. 

Our club’s major fundraising campaign is selling ornaments. From the proceeds we buy gifts for needy children at Christmas time, provide funding to send children to science camp, provide “Where to Worship” brochures for people visiting the area. We can be proud of our other random acts of service in our home town, too. 

This year, a talented and nationally known artist, Jean Perry helped us in fulfilling our interest in decorating the ornaments a little differently this year. Jean gave permission to Kiwanis to use an image of her painting “Fish Creek Falls” to embellish the bauble. 

It is a fair trade! Many visitors to the area purchase the ornaments in commemoration of their trip to Steamboat. They will take them as gifts to family and friends in other States, too. The ornaments will hang on boughs of Christmas trees far beyond Steamboat Springs,Colorado and people will become acquainted with the artist’s work. Good deal! 

Kiwanis of Steamboat is grateful to painter Jean Perry for her generosity in sharing her art, so that as a Club, we can “serve children of the world.” For more information on the artist, please visit www.JeanPerryStudio.com.

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Historic Setting Filled with Jewels

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 “Art is something that has real value. It deepens each person’s respect for life.”         ~Dana Levin 

On the corner of 9th Street andLincoln Avenue, sits an historic building that has always been filled with riches. The building bequeathed to the city of Steamboat Springs,Colorado in 2006, now houses the Steamboat Art Museum. It is a gift from the estate of a long time artist and rancher, Helen Rehder.  The building no longer contains currency of the First National Bank. To fulfill the donor’s request, the building is now filled with wealth of another kind – top quality art exhibits. The community of Steamboat is so very fortunate to have this substantial acquisition. The museum attracts top-notch artists who wish to share their craft with area artists and tourists, alike. As each new exhibit is brought to town, emerging artists can learn from the master’s work through observation, painting workshops and demonstrations. 

On December 2nd, the historic setting of the Steamboat Art Museum will be installed with gemstone paintings of another of the country’s top master painters, Quang Ho. This artist, of Vietnamese heritage, immigrated to the United States in 1975. He became a U.S. Citizen and began wowing this country with his art five years later at the age of 16. Two years later, he earned a National Scholarship award at the Colorado Institute of Art, the same year his mother was tragically killed. He then began the responsibility of rebuilding his life and raising four younger brothers and a sister, too. 

Despite adversity and challenges, Quang Ho has become a well-respected top national artist who is accomplished at figurative painting, landscapes and still life. He has invested his time and energy in learning how to paint in oils and watercolor. He teaches emerging artists at the Denver Students Artist League and also through his publications of art books and DVDs on how to paint. 

Quang Ho’s paintings will be shown for a four month period, beginning December 2. An opening reception for members of the Museum will be held from 4pm to 5 pm. The general public is invited to attend during the Friday Art Walk hours from 5 to 8 pm on December 2nd. Quang Ho will be giving a painting demonstration the following day (December 3rd). Purchase tickets early! The demonstration is guaranteed to sell out. There are also tickets available to have dinner with the artist. For more details, please visit www.steamboatartmuseum.org

This exhibit is not to be missed, and it will hang until the closing on April 14th. Both locals and tourists will find a fulfilling range of compositions that this extraordinarily talented artist has allowed the Steamboat Art  Museum to bring to this town.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

 

 

Fulfilling Thoughts of Thanksgiving

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Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Unknown 

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for all readers who have visited this blog site All Things Fulfilling. I appreciate your encouraging comments and your interest in the independent thoughts, words and views that are posted on this site. This digital publishing format provides a way of learning about others in the world who also have faith in the growing  independent publishing industry and see  value and worth in providing a way for each voice to be heard.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Writers Who Grow as they Go

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A fulfilling life is different to each person. You have to acknowledge your dreams, and not just wait for life to happen, and opportunities to come knocking at your door.” ~  Joan Lunden

The deadline for submissions to the Sante Fe Writers Project is December 15th  – just around the corner! Send in your books for consideration to their annual award contest now! Don’t wait. 

The Sante Fe Writers Project (SFWP) is an “independent press dedicated to the craft of writing.”  It was formed in 1998  as a grass roots trial to bring together a group of art advocates and writers. It has gained international acclaim for their literary contest and also, for their on-line journal which has been in existence since 2002. 

Published authors and authors who have never been published before are welcomed to submit to this contest. Submissions from small presses and self-published books are eligible in categories of creative non-fiction and fiction. To read the guidelines for submissions and eligibility requirements, please visit the following link http://bit.ly/bOmP26

 The organizer of SFWP, Andrew Gifford, (from the Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland) has written an interesting article on independent publishing. Please visit this site to learn what he has to say about the industry.  http://bit.ly/tznXjF

Sante Fe and the neighboring city of Albuquerque, NM has a wealth of professional artists in the literary, visual and filmmaking fields who call those cities home. If you have never visited the area, it is filled with art and inspiration.

This blog mistress will be taking turkey day off. I will be spending the holiday with my favorite filmmaker and visual effects artist in the State that “Grows as it Goes!” I look forward to sharing more with you from the “Land of Enchantment” in upcoming blogs. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Where is there Paradise?

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I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library.” ~ Jorge Luise Borges

Where is paradise anyway? Is there a place free of tough life choices, family dilemmas and drama? 

On Wednesday, a new independent film called The Descendants featuring George Clooney hit movie screens in select cities across the United States. This movie has gotten solid reviews as a movie that will make the viewer laugh, cry and bring thought provoking issues, to the fore, about family inheritance and how it is to be used. 

The film is set in one of the most geographically fulfilling paradises in the world,Hawaii. Yet there is no exemption from stress, decision making and failed family communications found there, either.

To learn more about this newly released film and to watch a trailer, please follow this link http://imdb.to/99pqrz

Have a great weekend everyone! We will return on Monday with more independent thoughts words and views from Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC.

Beyond Name Brand e-Readers

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 “The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.”
~
John Wooden 

Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook and the Sony Reader are becoming household words in e-readers. However, there are other brands that are geared for specific uses and target markets, too. Don’t discount the lesser known e-readers that are available. Check all your options when searching for an e-reader, you might find one that may be better than the others at fulfilling your particular needs. 

For example, Jet Book K-12 from Ectaco, Inc. is a digital reader made specifically for schools. Standard applications include state reading lists from schools, Oxford English dictionaries as well as other language dictionaries, a handheld scanner that allows for documents to be scanned directly into the device and a scientific graphing calculator. 

There is also a recipe reader, the Demy by Key Ingredient Corp. for culinary customers who find it easier to go to a digital reader to locate recipes they are looking for rather than leafing through volumes and pages of cookbooks. This slim digital reader can hold up to 2500 recipes all on spot, in one small space atop the kitchen counter. No need to worry about splatters of food ruining pages of a cookbook, anymore. 

Looking for a digital note e-ink screen and touch screen, all in one combo.  The entourage eDGe allows users to write handwritten notes on one side and has an e-reader on the other. This dual-sided e-reader came out in 2010, and now has a downsized Pocket version as well. 

The Story HD from Iriver is called the world’s highest-resolution 6 inch e-reader. This is device supports ePub and PDF files and uses 63% more pixels for better resolution. 

One more gadget new to the market features a full color, non-reflective screen great for out-of-door reading. Mirasol’s PocketBook has a 7 inch screen and runs on Android 2.0 on a wireless network. 

Remember, if you purchase an e-reader, there are also lots of free independently published e-books on line. How do you locate free e-books? Here is a source http://bit.ly/14tUT

Happy e-reading, everyone! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Specializing in E-Commerce and E-Marketing for Independent Publishers.

The Heart Knows A Winner!

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There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart…pursue those.” ~ Michael Nolan 

Days of Our Lives actress Mara Purl and author of “What the Heart Knows”  has had admirable reviews of her women’s fiction novel that  was released in October. In honor of 11-11-11,  Mara  has created a contest that you can join in on,  free of cost. What are the perks? The chance to win a Kindle Classic e-reader or a free e-book. 

How can you join in?  By fulfilling Mara’s request to be one of the first 11 people who post a review on Amazon for “What the Heart Knows.” In turn, you will receive a FREE downloadable pdf of the best-selling short story —“When Hummers Dream.”

Here’s how to enter:

Part I – Write your Review
1-write and post your Amazon review

2- e-mail the link to your review to (Kara@BellekeepBooks.com)

3- You will receive an e-mail with a downloadable  link for a free copy of the e-book “When Hummers Dream” if you are one of the first eleven to respond.

Part IIPlay the Novel Contest (purchase necessary)

The one-hundred-eleventh (111th) purchaser of “What the Heart Knows”
receives a FREE CLASSIC KINDLE!

1 – Buy a copy of “What the Heart Knows” from your favorite website

2 – E-mail a copy of your receipt to Kara@BellekeepBooks.com as proof of purchase.
(Kara will keep careful track of each e-mail with its attached purchase receipt, in the order received. )

3 – You will receive e-mail  notification you’re the WINNER and get the details of how to receive your new Kindle!

For more information on the Milford Haven Books,  please visit http://on.fb.me/eK4i3b.

Mara has created this contest because she has alot of heart as an author and as a human being. Her inspiring books are full of more of the same! Good luck and you can’t win if you don’t play! Happy Reading and Writing.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Holiday e-Book Buying Guide

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Only one shopping day left ’til tomorrow.” ~Author Unknown

I am always in awe of people who begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. Shopping from the computer, through e-commerce has become routine. Catalogs in print, arriving through the mail, have been reduced. Many of the big catalog companies now have catalogs on the web. That is a positive move toward sustainability –  a very good thing. It will save a lot of trees! 

There has been a dramatic uptick over past ten years in digital and electronic gadgets that appear on Christmas lists. Everything from laptops, to i-phones, i-pods to digital cameras and more are the most wanted gifts on any adult and children’s wish lists. 

In 2011, e-books are selling at a rapid rate. As sales of electronic reader devices increases (such as the Kindle, the Nook, i-Pads and Sony readers), there becomes a proportionate increase in electronic books sales, too. Some e-book authors are selling 9,000 or 10,000 books per month. 

Let’s face it –  e-books, are on the fast track of independent publishing. http://bit.ly/oIkV2g. They have provided, to the reader, the most convenient and affordable way of purchasing new books. 

To view a catalog of authors who make their titles available through independent publishing, follow this link. http://bit.ly/qs0jUN .  Authors in this holiday  guide are among  leaders in the independent publishing industry. There are others available and they can be found by searching the internet for “top selling e-books or independently published books.”

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.