Well, Steem-heads, it's that time again. Time for the second installment of Anarcho-Art Magazine here on Steemit.com. We have a great issue for you this volume with three great artists, so without further ado, let's hit it!

In this issue:

Graphic

• Jon Torres, Steemit user @loganarchy (see this issue's cover art) joins us for an interview to talk about anarchy, art, and the inseparability of either from the individual. Also be sure to check out his process video for the featured (cover) Sauron painting.

Sonic

• Steemit user @samstonehill with a video for his original song written back in 2003 about dating a porn star amidst several habits, and ensuing heartache.

Cryptic

• Known as @cryptomancer here on Steem, do yourself a favor and get hip to this man's story. A fellow American expat here in Japan, the Cryptomancer went from English teacher, to broke, to working his way up to a solid career in finance and computer technology. If you are looking to learn more about cryptocurrency, trading, and diversifying your portfolio, look no further.

---

Interview with Jon Torres (@loganarchy)

AART: When did you first start painting, and also, when did you become an anarchist?

I have always been into art, even as a kid. In high school I was that nerdy kid drawing anime characters in my notebook and I took a lot of art classes then too. I was encouraged to take AP art but I had a nasty habit of sometimes doing the opposite of what people told me to do (that attitude probably contributed to my being an anarchist today). I stopped drawing for years until I was about 24 (I’m 29 now). At 24 I started painting again just for fun and realized I really enjoyed it. Then I learned that you could actually make a living doing it. I play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons and always admired the art in the rulebooks and wanted to do something like that. I went to art school but dropped out because it was just so expensive and I felt too old for it. I took some courses after art college at CGMA (an online concept art educational program) but I mostly just buckled down and studied art religiously. To this day I try to spend a minimum of 2 hours a day studying the fundamentals. There are no days off.

I became an anarchist slowly. I was into Ron Paul in 2012 and I think the realization that the system was rigged through Ron being screwed for the nomination started to move me towards anarchism. I started reading a lot of Rothbard, Mises, Hoppe, Woods, Rockwell and so on. Eventually I just jumped in head first. I just couldn’t deny these principles anymore.

Do you see anarchy and the creation of art as related or unified concepts? If so, in what way?

I totally see a connection. I love this quote by Ludwig Von Mises: "All rational action is in the first place individual action. Only the individual thinks. Only the individual reasons. Only the individual acts." Mises is referring to economics but art works as an example as well. There would be no art if there were no individuals. It takes an individual having a vision and putting paint to canvas to make art just as much as it takes an individual with vision to create a business. It’s all connected. Really, the entrepreneur is no less of an artist than a painter or poet. The entrepreneur's creations just seem more mundane than the romanticized art of others. But I really believe that one cannot truly love art and at the same disrespect personal autonomy through collectivism. You’re just being a hypocrite at that point.

Tell us about your podcast, Logical Anarchy.

Logical Anarchy started really just as a blog back in 2014. It was really just a dumping ground for ideas on anarcho-capitalism, economics, and philosophy. Then my friend Joe Logan wanted in and we started a podcast that aired once every week. It was a lot of fun and we have had our lulls in keeping up with it, but we do our best. I also run a weekday show 5 days a week. It’s a 30 minute topical show where I just rant about these ideas and economics. So far we have had a bit of success with it too. We are not “celebratarians” at all but we still get a lot of great feedback from people that seem to get something out of our content. I don’t think we really want to be celebratarians, many seem to get weird when the reach critical mass with popularity. It’s a lot of fun though and talking about these ideas is tied with art as one of my favorite things to do. I don’t know what I would pick if I had to pick only one.

Without further ado, let's check out the Sauron video. Is there anything you'd like to let the viewers know about this work before viewing?

Sure. This is part of a new endeavour that I am attempting. I am by no means an expert on this stuff but I want to share what I know with people about art and what works for me. I really don’t have that “intuitive” ability with art and I really approach it in an analytical way. So with that, this is one of many Patreon videos I will be trying to crank out for my fellow artists. It isn’t so much a “look what I can do, you should copy me” but more of a “come with me on a journey and learn alongside me how we can suck less at art.”

Also, by the time we get to the point in the video where you see me working here, I had restarted the painting about four times. I didn’t want to show that because it would kill the magic of the video. But I hope this kind of stuff can help other artists out there trying to learn just like me.

Be sure to upvote and follow Jon! @loganarchy here on the Steem Machine!

---

Porn Stars, Magic Mushrooms, and Broken Hearts

Sam Stonehill, @samstonehill here on Steem, wrote a beautiful song back in 2003 and decided to share it with us. Give a listen, and be sure to follow and upvote. He has quality content and a lot of life experience of the kind that I daresay not many have. I quote from his post now:

And no big surprises, she broke my heart! But the feeling at the time was very intense...and this song was the result of that feeling. Which is often the way with me. Intense feelings seem to get converted to music in my head.
I am not too sure why I so bravely chose to show my drug habits at the time as the backdrop for my music video. What can I say? I was young and stupid. Hopefully I can't be prosecuted for something I did 13 years ago!

---

Finally, a new friend I have made here on Steem (I hope he is cool with me calling him my friend!) @cryptomancer!

@cryptomancer is an American expat, like me, living in Japan. I am in the rice fields of Niigata and he is in the bustling mega metropolis known as Tokyo, Japan.

This guy's story is real, and his knowledge and advice on diversifying one's portfolio in the crypto realm is a valuable resource for any investor. Cryptocurrency, coding, and investing are art forms, my friends. Make no mistake!

Don't miss out on meeting a great cat and finding a valuable resource in the Cryptomancer. Do yourself a big favor and read his story here.

~*~

That's all for this edition! See you in 2 weeks!

---

Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist residing in Niigata, Japan. All SBD proceeds for AART magazine are split between the editor (yours truly) and featured/contributing artists.