The difference a few years can make...

I’m not pulling out the rocking chair yet - and am still doing my best to gather ye my share of rose buds. There has, however, been a rather significant shift in my hopes, dreams and even fears over the last few years.

I haven’t completely abandoned the romance of a life of artistic contribution or impact on the bigger artistic picture. I may not be in a relentless struggle for fame or vast fortune - stability is the main quest lately, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I have lost my ambition. It’s just that my equation has become a little more complex with the addition of a wife and kids into it.

Gone are the three day and night long ‘artistic benders’… (Not that I ever went on them too often - you tend to get kinda stinky by the end of those.)

And my most substantial fears have gone from the typical ‘getting old’ and ‘inconsequence’ - to the more simple things like catching my son with my toothbrush in his hand. And while there is considerable relief in finding it still in his hand and not seeing the dog running away in a panic with the handle protruding from it’s ass… you still do have to wonder where it had been before you found him with it - and, trust me, that is scary enough. And you don’t want to get into the mind game of wondering how many times he may have had it that you didn’t know of. There’s just no way of winning that.

There are days now a big project or new technique doesn’t even remotely bring the satisfaction that knowing that, at least at the moment you dropped them off for school, every part of the kids and their belongings was 'booger free'. Although that victory dance is usually a short one when you find something hideous had been wiped on your sleeve…

The trade off being that I get to volunteer to help out with ‘Clay For Kids’ day at school. And my son, beaming with pride, proclaiming (at full volume): “My Dad knows all about this stuff - He is a artist.” It almost makes the days of cleaning up body fluids, the projects that had to wait until midnight to get started, the runny noses, fighting over the $%^ * Wii and CONSTANT talking worthwhile…

So Yes… There are many days that I’m not sure what the hell I am doing - even more days I am not sure what the hell I am and where exactly I fit in to the big picture. But at least my kids seem to know and can remind me: “I know all about this stuff - I am a artist.” 

Thanks for reading - sincerely,

Rod


P.S.
I just have to make a quick product ‘plug’ here… This week, along with several others, I pulled out my “Pocket Graf-X” stencils designed by Scott MacKay. I firmly believe that, next to my airbrush itself, they are among the best, most used, most valuable tools I own. I use them all the time and, without fail, find myself saying “These things are awesome!” when they speed up a process and/or add a cool effect. So… Scott - Thank you!! My customer was quite pleased with my project this week and it was largely due to the effects I added using your stencil set.  (I don't have pictures of that project yet but will be going back there soon to take some - and then this 'plug' will make a lot more sense.)

One of my 'pick gaurd projects' before clear: