So I was painting a picture of a snake today and ended up with a lot of extra brown, so on a lark I grabbed a stray piece of cardboard and produced the following:
Earlier today I sent this article via Google Reader to a guy I know, and he wrote back,
“I try to remember every once in a while how marvelous it is to be relatively normal.
No missing appendages, no horrible speech impediment, normal unremarkable appearance.
Invisible in a crowd and able to move about freely, safely ignored by others.
That being said having a stove pipe hat and an elaborate metal arm would be pretty bad ass.”
And for some reason, my back-brain remembered that and sent it straight to the paintbrush. And abruptly I wanted to write a short story (or a QUADRILOGY) about these three.
They’re clearly together; where are they going? Why are they in such an all-fired hurry?
Why didn’t the woman wear sensible shoes?
Why is the middle gentleman using a cane? Is he elderly? Is one or both legs perhaps not of flesh and bone? Does the cane perhaps have a blue glass ball on top spiderwebbed with cracks from repeated use on the skulls of his enemies?
I can smell the middle one’s hat, it smells of fried food and dirty hair and genius. He’s the brains of the outfit. Lefty there is the muscle, and the woman is… let’s see… the woman is a mysterious acquaintance, recently made, the subject of a certain amount of paternal disdain from Stovepipe and silent desperation from Lefty, which is a shame, because they’re on the trail of… HER FIANCÉ. Or no?
Bah, curse this brain of mine. I need a new one.
At least the painting is keeping me out of trouble in the evenings.
I like the name “Lefty”, so I’m going to suggest that you flip the photo rather than change the name.
Flip the photo, whaa? I called him Lefty because his left leg is the good one… oh wait, maybe he should be Righty? I get what you’re saying.
Words can’t express how much I heart that painting. Trust me, if you can create that level of awesome, there’s nothing wrong with your brain.
Thanks!
Fun fact: the piece of cardboard is from a package received from a guy I met through Mark’s blog, and then again at the wedding. It was one of two enclosing a print of a jellyfish – and the snake is painted on the other piece!