I'm Not THAT Kind of Artist . . . Yet

People often ask, 'where do you get your ideas and inspiration?'  


The short answer is 'everywhere and nowhere.'   I'm simply not the kind of artist that has all kinds of deep, philosophical, meaning of life stuff going on in my art.


Things change of course.


I don't want to eat my words and claim I'll never be that kind of artist.  


For now, I think some folks would be surprised at the finished product versus the inspiration for some of my divas.  Take this one.  I named it "Yes.  You!" :

She was inspired by the movie I had just seen less than an hour before - "The Hunger Games."  


How the hell did I go from "The Hunger Games" to a lady singling someone out in a bar?  


After watching "The Hunger Games",  the lead character got my creative juices flowing.  The next diva could be:

• a woman pointing her bow and arrow (hmm . . . ok . . . )
• a woman pointing her arrow (hmm . . . maybe . . . )
• a woman pointing!!!  (OMG!  How cool would that be?)

Thanks to the part of me that's still a little boy sitting in Algebra class staring out the window daydreaming, an entire story and scenario develops.  


On the surface, zero connection between the two.  However, once you dig a little deeper, you can probably see the influence and relationship to "The Hunger Games" . . . albeit, a loose derivative. 


Oh dear.  


Is it just me?  Or did I not just sound like THAT kind of artist?  ;-)

Long Weekends Are Short

I flew to Tampa, FL to visit a buddy and explore the city.  And of course, I felt like I had just landed only to have to hop back on the plane and return home.


Sigh . . . 


My long weekend felt awfully short.  But alas, diva inspirations abounded - especially heels!


Holy moly!


The girls in Tampa, FL don't play when it comes to high, High, HIGH heels.  The diva sighting of the day was a girl in super-duper-nosebleed high heels leaving a movie theatre Saturday late night.


She had to walk down two steep flights of stairs.  


She didn't bat an eye.  


She didn't hesitate.


She didn't even pause.


She sauntered down both flights  . . . 


WITHOUT EVEN USING THE HANDRAILS!!!


I was stunned and impressed. 


It's nice to be home.  Diva inspirations abound in my own backyard.  But, until this diva sighting in Tampa, FL . . . 


I had no idea high heels came in ALL -WHEEL DRIVE!  ;-)

Grown Up Luggage

Last week I was invited to join some friends on a weekend ski trip.  Naturally, I grabbed my luggage, stuffed in a few items, and headed to the slopes.

Hardly . . . 

I went.   But getting my stuff there proved to be a pivotal moment in my life.  After years of getting away without it for so long, I had no choice . . . it was time to invest in GROWN UP luggage.

To date, my luggage was one lone duffle bag.  I've been through several of course.  Basically I just use whatever I use for the gym for road trips and overnight stays.

I paid nothing for my latest.  My brother or his wife donated several bags from seminars and such they've attended.  This is one from an American Red Cross event is the latest:

Nothing fancy.  One Summer I was jaunting across the region in a two-seater convertible.  Trunk space was limited.  The smaller the better.  

But this ski trip was different.  As I tore up my place looking for something bigger, it occurred to me:  I needed REAL GROWN UP luggage.  

This was a snazzier trip.  I didn't want to roll up with my gym bag among other folks' Luis Vuitton's.  So I made a quick trip on my lunch break and came up with this:

Much better.  For perspective, here they are together:

It has wheels, an expandable handle, and everything.  

Granted, it's no Luis Vutitton.  But considering I was using the same bag I carried to the gym and stuffed haphazardly in lockers for years, I was able to pack with much more confidence.  My luggage had finally grown up!