Another moon

Okay, then... it was under another moon I made the last entry here, tempus fugit and ain't it the truth? Bearing down on the start of production of, well, either/or a comic book or an animated short for which I've been working up character sketches. What a blast! Some real trepidation at the outset has been replaced by some better-than-tentative glee at the re-discovery of a drawing technique I used to practice way-back-when in my glorious school days. It's exploratory, loose and grabby all at once, if I do say so myself.

   At any rate, I'm having real fun putting pencils to paper again, finally. This kind of drawing was the stuff of life during high school(when I thought I was pretty hot stuff) and during my abbreviated career of higher education(when I learned the meaning of 'little fish in a big pond'). I drew every day and some days all day; in class, out of class, in my rented room, under the bell tower on the lawn of the student center, in the student center, in the library. I drew people and faces, cartoons and things that never were, things pulled from the ether of my gray matter mixed into mythology both modern and ancient and subject matter I diligently tried to copy from comic book artists I used to admire and white haired perfessors of the illustrative arts. It was just what I did and how I was recognized by others and by myself, 'the kid who draws'.

   A fellow named Todd Burgard, once Robin to my Batman, used to call it my 'like thing'. His 'like thing', the thing he liked most to do and would whenever the opportunity arose, was fishing. He once espoused his philosophy to me that included everyone indulging their 'like thing' whenever possible to keep their sanity in a crazy, mixed up world. It ain't deep but it is true, true, true.

That 'like thing' got lost for me in the shuffle of 'real life' in the intervening twenty-plus years and it's gratifying for me to take a stab at it again- especially since somebody else will enjoy the stuff as well.

Doesn't hurt my feelings getting paid for it either, you bet.

With the approach of the publication of the long form that will employ said characters- robots, rock 'n' roll girls with guitars, scary spacegoing creatures with lotsa teeth and chrome eyes, dark hooded vigilante superheroes -rendered by 'comics professionals', I'll be able to add my renderings to my own public art gallery which has been practically a dead zone (crickets chirping...) since its inception. Yay! What fun that will be! I can stop tooting my horn about it and show it off a little, so stay tuned, eh?!?

In other news: The cat of the house has been so well trained to take her place at the foot of the bed at night that tonight she ambled in of her own free will and took her place half an hour before anyone else was inclined to retire! Good kitty. Yet still she refuses to scratch at her new carpeted scratching post, preferring instead to unroll the bathroom tissue by the ream. Lemme tell ya, nothing'll put the 'clog in your muffin' so much as  hurrying to that esteemed place in the house and finding the complete supply of paper shredded and clawed beyond repair at your feet. We say in jest that she may be trying to use the paper as her litter box is close by... but, no, I don't really think so.

I've heard of 'horse whisperers' and 'dog whisperers'. Surely there is also a 'cat whisperer' because I need one!

Recent back trouble- due in no small part to the predominantly sedentary positioning required by my arts and crafts and drawing both (and, I'm suspicious, perhaps by the recent automobile collision as well) -has abated somewhat and those muscles were duly tested today by helping a pal with some tree parts that had been taken down. Normally my strapping young lad of a son-boy would be recruited for such labors while I keep at my drawing board and rubber molds but he was unavailable, sitting a day or two with his younger cousin who is recuperating from an appendectomy, so I volunteered. Tomorrow will tell the tale, whether I can even get out of bed or determine to lie silent and still hoping not to aggravate that delicate condition any further.

But rise I must, I must, as its a hastily scheduled 'play date' in the morning with local toy pals, Big Don and Pattoo. We'll make a short road trip to the celebrated Green Dragon flea market over Lancaster/Ephrata way and see what kind of vintage or new playthings we can see and perhaps even gather unto ourselves for the trip home.

Speaking of playthings: I've got some new things on the horizon in that venue- new boxes, new outfits, new heads on the way, just new stuff all the time! Well, okay... some of the time. Once in a while, all right?!?

And the fun never ends! Now, there's a phrase I'd like to learn in Latin! Who can help me out there?