Boonemyster Digital Art & Photography

The Dream As I slept the other evening a dream filled my mind with vivid thoughts; I was stirred but not awakened by the gravity of the dream. I pondered the meaning of the dream over the next two days. On the third night, I was awakened from my sleep at about the fourth hour. The visions in my dream were again stirring in my head and the interpretation of it began to flow through my mind by way of the spirit in me. I felt compelled to get out of bed and write down the dream and its interpretation. The dream was lucid and it filled me with various emotions. In my dream, I was aware that it was a dream and while I was a participant in it I was also watching it as it unfolded. I found myself in a dark building, what appeared to have been a retail store, something like an old Woolworth Store. It had a long soda counter where stools once stood and lined its front. Behind the counter area was a ledge along the wall with an old register atop. Above the ledge was a full-length mirror t...

  TAKEN UP "Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" Paul the Apostle, 1st Corinthians 15:51-57

Ignorance Isn't Bliss We live in a day and age where knowledge is rampant as the data is available through the internet on any subject you wish to research; if you find it on Google, Firefox, Brave, MS Edge, and the like you can veer off and take your trip down the rabbit hole that leads to the deep and dark web. The written words of Daniel's vision recorded in the book by his name in the Torah, renamed the "Old Testament" by the Christians "But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase. Dan 12:14 Ignorance, the state or fact of being ignorant: a lack of knowledge or awareness." Webster.com The word ignorant is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, and can describe individuals who deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts, or individuals who are unaware of important information or facts." - wikipedia.o...

Symbols have been used since time began, used to express their author's thoughts and give the viewer direction. Some ancient characters are concrete, while many appear abstract and disconnected from our reality. While time separates us from the author of ancient symbols, most are interpretable through the framework of our everyday experience, requiring no further investigation for interpretation.  For this reason, I seek to glean from old and new and to create artwork to be interpreted in our time.

The Candidate emerges and proves their worth. He calms the seas and rides her waves to power;  crashing on the shores of a distant land, the Beast makes war. “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Benjamin Franklin "It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting." - Tom Stoppard “Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.” — then-Sen. John F. Kennedy at the Gridiron Club dinner in 1958, reading a “telegram” from his father. “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” — President John Quincy Adams. “I never voted for anybody. I always voted against” — comedian W.C. Fields.  “A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user” — Commonly attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt ”It has been said that democracy is the wors...

People flow into the naves of Gothic Cathedrals throughout America looking for the source of hope. But like a paper boat, they find themselves carried along it's dark forbodding walls as by a river; a way they had hoped flowed to the sea, and yet finding themselves in a gully, say to themselves, alas we have followed the wrong course to our ruin., where now shall we go? - JB "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."  -  James the Apostle  

"The door was shut as I was left in a cold empty room. I stood and listened to the echoing of the clanking of keys being turned to secure the lock, I was alone. A dark shadow flooded my mind, shutting me in from the inside. I was in a strange place, filled with strange sounds, putrid smells, and unhappy colorless faces.  A voice came over the PA system announcing "Free Time" for residents; soon after, my cell door was opened and I was let out of my cage and into the corridor. Unsure of where to go, I shuffled down the long dark hallway. While making my way down the hallway I caught sight of my reflection in a barred window. Ponding my reflection, I briefly sensed a desire in me to grieve, but I could not. The burning that once filled my heart was now gray and lifeless. My reflection bore the struggles against my inner and outer daemons, now etched upon my face.  In despair of my appearance, I became faint and lost my energy. Sinking down to the floor, like a wind-up toy ...

My Young Apprentice,    I received your letter this morning; You write that you have met a woman who you are very interested in knowing better. You write that your mother says she is a gift from heaven; and you ask: “How do you know if a girl truly cares for you or whether she is a Harlot and is only interested in stealing your soul.    You have asked me such questions on many occasions compels me to write you with this recommendation; though am hesitant, as I treasure your soul, and wish that no harm should befall you. But alas, I fear you will seek her out and will follow her too far to find out your answer.    So, my Young Apprentice, take my words and bind them in your heart that you might be spared her poison if she should strike you while you are intoxicated under her spell. So, investigate your mother's assumptions if you dare; but be advised to heed my words and who knows what you may learn. Be wise Young Apprentice, it is your soul that is a...

BLIX When is it time to break out of old paradigms? ; especially when they have proven to hurt and divide large groups of people and pin us against one another? I grew up in a single-parent home with little to nothing; but in some ways, the important ways, we had it all. We had safety, shelter, food, and the love of a Mother who taught us to not think poorly but to thank God for all his blessings. So when others saw how happy the little warfare family seemed they sought to rob us of it by lumping us into a group called Welfare Recipients, along with other names too hurtful to mention to those who have also bore names given by those ignorant among us. I grew up being placed in groups like fat, stupid, encourage, and the like; it stings like arrows remembering how these words often came from those I sought encouragement. I find it offensive to be forced to lump myself into a Race Group on questionnaires at medical offices, hospitals, and any other organization. I vote we stop answer...

Take A New Perspective Pull up a moment and view the world from a different perspective. It can be disconcerting and throw us off balance. Face it, we prefer right side up, if only we truly knew where "up" in every situation.  My perspective on life is like this picture; it can be unsettling and uncomfortable more often than not, At those times my brain has to work considerably harder as it tries to interpret which way is up in a given situation challenging my view. It is at that those times I must trust my gut to help me to choose wisely. I usually begin by reading and chasing rabbits down trails which leads to a better understanding of my surroundings and how to interpret  the data. Feeding the Gut -  Going Down The Rabbit Hole In my research, for this article, I read an article by  Marcia Reynolds Psy.D. published in March of 2017 in   Psychology Today . The article is on trusting your gut and is named, " Should You Trust Your Gut? How to determine...

The Real Battle Is Within You As I sit down to write battles and fires are raging across America's cities and in me. Jesus said that the hearts of many would grow cold in the last days because evil will become rampant and people would say "Yes" when they really mean "No", and a Lie would be considered a Truth. We appear to be in such a time and place as he described; and I, like many of you find myself growing weary and cold having weathered this evil generation; watching the deterioration since my birth. Coldness seems like a place of refuge in such as this; and Hate is following her lead, both are deterrents to fighting well and surviving. I want to fight well and to do more than survive, I want to thrive! So it follows that I don't want to grow Cold or fall into the dark well of Hate. It appears the first battle is spiritual, as the battleground is invisible in the Heart and Mind. We are instructed by Christ's Apostles to ready ourselves for battl...

For me abandoned places are not places of gloom, but are only vessels holding the past in the present.  I find them both mysterious and beautiful, speaking volumes to the heart of my soul.  This picture depicts a place, once only existing in my mind, and now brought to life in yours, how marvelous!. I hear that in many places in the world abandoned cathedrals are taking new shape. Many are being transformed into hotels, flea markets, coffee shops, and the like; and some engulfed, encroached by the present, as in my fictional picture of Duke Chapel, in Durham, NC., deteriorating and overrun by their changing surroundings.  Some may think this morbid, but for some like me, they experience an awakening to the realities of life and death, here and not here.  I learned the shortness of life, and the final exhale of death; and learned to get on with life. I now look upon the past and its passing as a celebration of life knowing, at least I lived to consider it. ~JB~

If you've taken stock of how this pandemic has thrown the state of our world's financial, health, political, religious, entertainment, and personal lives into disarray you may be tempted to lose all hope in this world. Good! Maybe that's the prize you receive for losing all false hope in what has always been hopelessly trying to be your sense of stability and personhood. Maybe it’s your time to proclaim your freedom from a misguided and broken system. Then maybe, like the man healed by Jesus of blindness, you will begin to look around you; what do you see? As you surely your surroundings ask yourself, who or what can you work with around you? Ask the Lord to open your eyes so that you might see beyond your doubt and despair. It will be then that you will see that the fields are ripe and the sun is up. In the New Testament, the Gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are ...

You find yourself in an “Abandoned Train Car”, outside the door, outer space; your head is swirling while Rod Serling  narrates your experience. “You've entered  The Twilight Zone ” I took this original photo of a retired train car at  Pollen Park, in Raleigh, NC .  My interpretation of the subject follows the train as it enters its twilight of life; outside are no longer heard the sounds of people hustling to make the noon train, it's now replaced with the sounds of night creatures and the solar winds. The door is open allowing light reflected off the moon to fill the car with a pale light revealing the reds and washing out the blues. Peering out the door she can see stars hanging in the darkness like beacons beckoning travelers to come and see. But no soul peers from the window and dreams of visiting the distant lights for this train is fixed and will never visit the lights for it has traveled its last track; the hiss of steam and its warm breath is n...

When I first did this piece I had my mind on the narcotics problem we face in America, especially the drug this piece is named after. Now as we face a pandemic requiring people all over the world to wear a breathing mask it takes on new meaning for me. Those who are addicted to Oxycontin and the like are suffering right now as their suppliers are facing the same unseen killer the world wrestles against. While lack of availability is a unique opportunity to come clean, it comes at a very high risk to the addicted; physically and psychologically. Having been legally addicted to Oxycontin and a number of other pain meds over the years managing my chronic pain condition I have become personally familiar with withdrawal; the crawling of my skin and the climbing of the walls in my bathroom scared me and my family more than one night. John Lennon's song " Cold Turkey " best represented the struggle of those who go Cold Turkey, whatever the reason the experience is real an...

Visiting Mom in NY while up for a Wedding I found myself thrust into an emergency; my Mom was losing blood by the litter and no one knew where it was going. My family in NY was busy with wedding planning, parties, and intercontinental vacations and let her continue to bleed or not make enough blood, she was anemic in Red blood and Iron, not to mention in all her vitamins and minerals! Her body was shutting down and when I arrived she was down another 2 liters of blood! I took her right to the hospital and she went from 7.0 hemoglobin to 10.0, she has now had 3 Iron infusions and is now looking alive and her mind is coming back. For a 94-year-old she has proven to be strong in body, mind, and spirit; God is with Her, praise the Lord Jesus for her healing and continued recovery!    I can’t say it louder; watch over your parents and the elderly around you; make sure they’re not being neglected. This picture of mom is where she is today. She says to the camera as I took the pict...

UP IN SMOKE

I was inspired to produce this new gospel music video by the song "If You Could See Through My Eyes" performed by, my friends, The Wilson Family, Arnold & Lula. After many hours in production and hearing the message of this song over and again I know it has changed me in a good way; and that's always good. So, my friends, it's now my pleasure to share it with you. Most of the pictures in the video were taken by me in Raleigh North Carolina, and Queens, NY and a few are by others; to these anonymous photographers, many thanks.

The subject of this video project came to my mind when I visited the NC Museum of Art this past week.  I was drawn to the hands in the paintings and the contributions that they made to the overall story told by the painter. As you view my new video and enjoy the original music see if you can describe what emotion, ideas, and symbols are being portrayed by the hand gestures of the characters in the painting and their effect on your overall interpretation of the painting as a whole.