I've put a few more pictures up now, including "Window to Another World".

On the description page for that (here), I talked a little about exploring the spiritual implications of world-creation.  You see, when I tell people I create other cultures and worlds in my head as a hobby, I'm always bracing myself for the "Huh?" reaction.

What I call the "Huh?" reaction is the kind of response that seems to be subliminally, or overtly, thinking "What's the point of that?  What use is it to anyone?  Get a life!"

Sometimes, if I'm honest with myself, I have the "Huh?" reaction to what I do, too.  So I thought it would be a good subject to blog about.

On the surface of it, it really isn't useful to you at all that I have an imaginary country named Inutoland, which I have created a picture of the capital city of.  Nor is it much practical use that I collaborate with other world-creators on a large ongoing project to create a dynamic parallel world.

But is that supposed to be the point of everything?  When it comes down to it, what's the point of a painting?  What use is it to decorate the outside of a building?  Why do people spend millions on interior design, or try to have the coolest-looking shell for their phone, or whatever?

Art is its own reward, in a lot of ways.  Creating or loving beautiful things is a way to move beyond stark utilitarianism and cherish the spiritual aspect of being human.  I've been to places where the architecture is of the "merely functional" school.  I find them depressing.  We are made for better and higher things.

This is why people create beautiful gardens and beautiful homes.

And this is why I create anything at all.  It may not be very "useful" in any purely pragmatic sense, but I do it anyway.  And I will continue to do it.

For me, these imaginary worlds and created cultures allow me to explore the implications of different mindsets and diverse settings for the development of society.  Yes, there's a lot of "it isn't really real".  Yes, there are things I could be doing instead.

Guess what?  Hobbies are like that.  When it comes right down to it, sports aren't "really real" or fundamentally important.  Human beings aren't machines.  We do things, just because it seemed like fun.  We spend hours on things that are "useless", because we derive pleasure from the doing.  I can think of few things worse than spending hour after hour at a gym, running on a treadmill.  (If you must spend hours running, at least go somewhere!)  But many people do it, and seem to derive pleasure from it.

People have told me things like "If you must do something with other cultures, can't you do something with real cultures?"  They have a point.  And I do.  But I also create imaginary worlds.

Well, here it is at long last - my art website!

It's still very much a work-in-progress - I still only have a tithe of the paintings I want to have online actually uploaded, I don't have any of my pastel sketchbook pages up, and I still can't actually sell anything to anyone who wants to buy without them contacting me via email.

All of these features should be coming over the next couple of weeks, however, and I wanted to get something online, just to have made a start on the thing.  I'm a world-class procrastinator, as my family will tell you, and if I don't make a start of some form, I'll keep delaying and delaying.

Here it is, then: one art website, brand-new, still a work-in-progress, with a blog attached.  In this blog I intend to write about my art, about process and techniques (a little), about inspiration and about the world in general.  My musings can take me all over this world and others, so be prepared for this thing to go absolutely anywhere!