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Feeling like a slug!

Me standing on a block behind my tall daughter in her prom dress
Me and Girl2 on prom night

First, check out Girl2 in her prom dress. This picture was taken on her very last day of high school! She will graduate cum laude, with a cosmetology degree, an associates degree in science and math, and VERY close to completing Eagle Scout. I can’t manage to change my socks daily. This is why, as happy as I am for her and as proud, I feel like a slug.

I  had all of these great plans for 2023. I was going to do a fair every month. I was going to complete a large painting every week, a couple of small paintings, and sketch every day.

With the exception of a couple of small watercolors, I haven’t managed to complete a single painting. I have done a small handful of sketches, but nothing near the volume I wanted to do.

So what’s wrong me? Why can’t I manage to follow through? It’s so easy to get down on myself and think about how terrible I am. But doing nothing is the norm. That is the standard that the human body wants to maintain. Inertia. A body at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by a force, right?

So the real question is what happened before that motivated me to do something? How did I manage to get up and do anything before? We typically throw around words like “discipline” and “plan” without really understanding how those words become actions.

I don’t have an answer to that. I know that routine is the best way for me to get things accomplished. If I manage to sit at a drawing table with my pens and paper, I will draw something. So I have to set the routine to have my pens and paper out, maybe at a specific time or at least convenient place every day. Like the saying goes, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” If my space is prepared and my materials available, it’s a whole lot easier for me to actually sit down and get some work done. The current state of the studio is not conducive to that effort, to say the least

Garage studio is trashed

I did manage to take some supplies with me to the mall while the wife and kids explored the shops. I didn’t get a whole lot of sketches in, but something is a brazillian times more than nothing, right?

Boy2 enjoying some Chinese food at the food court

What’s on Your Easel?

domineeringly Snails, Pinups, and a Spider

What do those things have to do with each other? Nothing really, other than I drew them…

These snails are from a reference provided by Hielmy_arrasyid . Check them out. They’re a great photographer on instagram.

These Pinups are in keeping with the Halloweeny theme! The first one is Stefania Ferrario, then Austin White, Erika of Spacemunkybuns, and Nelsy of Wildkitten10. They are all great models!

I was honestly questioning whether to share the Pin-ups. In a couple of the F-book groups I belong to there have been a handful of people offended by the sexuality. Then a couple of thoughts occured to me… It’s my page, and I’m “The Artistic Biker.” While I know they exist, I think you’ll find bikers who don’t like pinups are in the extreme minority.

And finally, this little watercolor spider is based on a reference provided by Biju PB of AvianDiaries

That’s pretty much a round up of what’s on my easel! I would love to see and share what’s on your easel. Just send an email to Blade at Artistic Biker dot Com with the subject Easel and I’ll use your works to help inspire others. That’s what this is all about.

A collection of Mini Paintings and a Notebook

I finally managed to finish painting an entire deck of cards! I put them all in a collection I’ve entitled, 52 Mini Paintings: The First Deck. It is available from Amazon either as an E-book, a paperback, or even in hardback. If you get a copy, be sure and drop us a note letting me know what you thought of it.

I also decided to uploaded some of my artwork for notebooks. The first one is A Rooster Journal. If you like roosters and notebooks, especially together, this is the notebook with a rooster on it for you!

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn died on Tuesday, October 4th, 2022. She was 90 years old. She passed peacefully in her sleep at home.

Like so many others, I grew up listening to her and many of her songs have been a staple of my life. Not the least of which is Coal Miners Daughter. I was 9 when the movie came out and my mother must have burned through three of the eight tracks of the album, and then three more of the movie soundtrack.

She paved the way for many women in the entertainment industry and brought joy to millions with her shows and music. She will be a tough act to follow.

Phroggos

Girl2 and I are in love with frogs. Most days we’ll share at least a dozen or so frog posts on Instagram with each other. So much so that we have started corresponding with them getting permission to use their photos as references and learning their photography secrets. Some of my favorites are Jeffrey Gonzalez Espinoza, Aiden, and Freddie the Evil Frog

While perusing them the other day at work, I broke out my watercolor sketch kit and knocked out a quick study. I think I may redo this one large in acrylic…