Dr. Bob Hoke
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coffee and conversations with friends
I’ve been thinking of how essential friendly conversations are – and remembering a story Dr. Bob Hoke* once told. It went like this. Once upon a time there was a king who was very busy from morning until evening chairing meetings and making decisions. When the king went home in the evening he wanted perfect…
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designing a creative life 3 ways
“Art cannot be separated from life. It is the expression of the greatest need of which life is capable. And we value art not because of the skilled product, but because of its revelation of a life’s experience.” – Robert Henri (American painter). I’ve been thinking of that quote today – and thinking of…
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designing habits 6 ways
“Stay close to anything that makes you glad to be alive” – an old saying that Dr. Bob Hoke reminded me of often. I’ve been thinking of that today – and thinking of how easy it is to form habits, how quickly these habits become the “air” we breath. This air becomes so normal that we soon think that things…
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the art of practice and a story inside
“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first” – Dr. Bob Hoke. That quote is one of many from my book Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit that I’ve found helpful in my life as a professional artist. [a link to that book is here: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/dr-bobs-emotional-repair-program-first-aid-kit] When I begin any commissioned portrait…
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why whimsical dog art
“So much is wrong with the world and here you are doing artwork of cute dogs and the occasional cats. Aren’t you denying reality, denying the power of protest art?” No, I am on purpose living well as a direct action against the bullies, abusive people and authoritarians. If I were to get upset and…
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dog in the details
When I was a little kid I remember once telling my Grandmother “I’m bored.” She asked me to look for and find the smallest object in the house and bring it to her. After some time I found a safety-pin about 1/2 inch long and about 1/4 inch wide. She said “I’ll bet you can…
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pleasure patterns
About a year ago I began working towards my upcoming October exhibit at Caplan Art Designs. From a book I’d created years ago with Dr. Bob Hoke titled “Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit” (aka The First Aid Kit) I selected a ‘living well’ aspect to explore via fine art. Then I spent…

