Hillbilly Pimpgrass

My friend Chad of Hill Billy Highway fame, has put together a music/comedy act for the tour of that book. Recently he contacted me about creating a poster based on the old Western "WANTED" notices and here's the result. Note: the blank space at the bottom is intentional left for show info.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day!

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Image for February 12, 2012 - SNOW!

Last night we had our first snow for this winter and for 2012. It didn't last long, but the front that brought the snow also brought the cold, so when we got up this morning, some snow was still there. This winter has been very mild so far, with too many days in the 50s and 60s, hell even some days in 70s in January, so this blast of "real" winter is most welcome by me at least. I like the snow and the cold. It transforms any environment, bringing clarity and stillness (the cold keeps the lightweights shivering in their snuggies inside) and sets the stage for perfect hiking. The groundhog saw his shadow recently, signaling six more weeks of winter. Maybe he was right this year.

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African Mask Sketch - Bafo

I finally got back into my drawing groove tonight in no small part because of "Hugo", Marty Scorsese's love letter to George Méliés, Paris and creativity. Part of the subtext of the story concerns embracing our true nature, that a person is only full functional when the know their purpose and are exercising it. For myself, I feel the most fulfilled when I am creating things with my hands. It often seems difficult to find my way through The Noise of our modern, electronic age back to the well. It requires more and more effort to turn off this laptop and the TV and sit quietly with pen and paper or clay or whatever and just create. Tonight I got there and I am grateful. 

This is another drawing in a series I have been doing of African Masks. This one was drawn out of a book called African Art by Dennis Duerden. This is a Bafo Mask from the Cameroons. I choose it because it's scary and I like the shape. The pen I was using did not co-operate, so I may draw it again sometime in pencil so I can explore the texture as deeply as I want to.

Do yourself a favor, try and catch "Hugo" in 3-D on the big screen before it's gone.

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February 5, 2012 - Hike Day

My Seven Mile Neighborhood Walk

It was a lovely gray, soggy day today that reminded me of Scottish weather, in other words, a perfect day for a hike. I've been tearing up my hiking goals so far this year. I need to average 62.5 miles a month to make my year long goal of 750 miles. I finished January with 80 miles. The 7 miles today, added to my other February miles, brings me to 98 miles total for the year so far. Cool temperatures are more agreeable to me for hiking, so I'm working hard to get ahead now, so I can be a little lazy when the heat of summer comes. Here's a link to a plot of this hike:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5287228

Gmaps is a handy, free tool for getting an accurate idea of how far you've gone.

All this training is good for keeping in shape, but I need to get a hiking trip on my calendar soon.

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