a beautiful weekend.

1. Mudd has turned into quite the little seeing eye dog. He spots animals in the grass on a regular basis and Friday was no exception. We were taking a leisurely walk in tick infested grass when I noticed the dog pawing at a patch of earth. I walked over to the area and spied a scaled tail. I tugged on it and a ridiculously long garter snake started to unwind from the grass. I grabbed the beast behind the neck and went to grab my camera for a few shots. After our photo session she was released at the same spot we found her.
2. We tried to find an arrowhead this weekend. Not successful. But the field we were in had a lot of beautiful flint chips. Pink, red, grey, black, orange...all shiny and sharp as glass. Where you find flint chips there is a chance you'll find an arrowhead. So, it was worth a shot. At least the rocks look pretty.
3. It was a froggy weekend. All my amphibious friends have come out to enjoy an early spring. We took Mudd to the pond to Frolic. that clever dog has figured out that if he walks along the edge of the pond and smashes algae...frogs will jump out. Once the frogs jump out of the algae Mudd chases them along the pond's edge. It was pretty darn cute. What wasn't cute, though? The ubiquitous TICKS!!! We headed back to the truck after our pond jaunt and checked the dog for ticks. HE HAD THREE! I began to freak out and began to check myself, I had ticks crawling up my pants! I picked them off and thought I was in the clear. Nope. We begin the drive home, I let out a huge SCREAM because there was a tick crawling up my arm. I looked at my pant legs and there were two more! The ticks crawled off the dog and onto me. Needless to say, I hopped out of the truck, screamed, and flailed about for awhile. Think the story is over?...nope. I went to bed that night and picked two more ticks off of Mudd. TERRIBLE!

Saturday was spent outside.

1. On Saturday I met Cody. He's a registered Quarter Horse and was born in Hawaii. Yup, born in Hawaii and sent to Iowa. Mudd didn't know what to make of him at first (just a tiny bark or two) but I figure its best to get the dog used to horses. It lessens the chances of a brutal horse stomping.
2. Another day another fossil. Not to mention a very nice circular stone with a symmetrical hole in the center and flattened on the bottom.....my best guess, Native American bead. But, who knows...it's my rock. Other then that: some horned coral, some dead clams, the center of a geode, and a rock that looks like a bird standing on a stick.

Comissioned Piece.

My buddy, Andrew, is starting a business. He asked me to put together a potential logo/drawing for his website. Seeing as it's a roof sealing business he wanted sharks and seals as a prominant part of the design. So, here's design #1. Happy Friday, jerks.

another painting.

Click on the image for a better view

Untitled (as of yet)
roughly 24 x 13
gouache on paper.

Here's another painting I recently finished. The photo quality is sub par but you get the idea. I just need to get a bit more accurate with the photoshop burn/dodge tool. I am pretty pleased with the bottom part of this painting. So, onward and upward, friends.

Finished Painting.

Click on the image for a better view

"Untitled (for now)"
approx 24 x 16
gouache on paper

As you guys now know, I collected a lot of pins at the Potentates Ball (if you don't know this, its two blog posts down). As unfortunate as it sounds, I wasn't able to collect them all while I was attending the formal event.
I recieved a letter in the mail yesterday. This doesn't happen often and I was curious...who sent me this letter? Then I remembered. I ran into a woman at the Potentates ball and she was pin-laden. I asked her how she got all of them and she told me,

"just by existing."

Then she asked for my address. She said she'd send me a few pins. I thought nothing more of the interaction. But, damnit, that wonderful woman sent me two pins in the mail. I was tickled. What a nice gesture from a lovely lady. =

Sometimes I'm impressed by people's kindness.

painting in process.

About a year ago I saw a chupacabra. We all know that the chupacabra is a legend...a mythical monster that sucks the blood out of goats. They even made an X-Files episode focus on that very subject. Anyhoo, while driving i spotted a grey, hairless, sickly, animal trying very hard to hobble across a cornfield. When it comes down to it, the "chupacabra" we saw was just a mangy fox or coyote stumbling off into the great unknown to die in a bush somewhere.
The drawing you see up top is a study for a beautiful painting I'm about to start. It comemorates the day I saw my first "mythical" beast...in Iowa of all places. Chupacabras always have giant bat ears so I'm using my lil' Mudd as a model. Isn't he handsome? We'll see how the painting goes. Wish me luck.

The Potentates Ball.

http://www.zagazigshrine.org/Potes_Ball.htm

I don't even know where to begin this post.

It was a formal event. There were a lot of fancy/boozy drinks, there were fezzes and formal wear, there were a bunch of clowns running around. It was the 2012 Potentates Ball.

Most of us are aware that Shriners exist. We've gone to their circuses and we've seen them parade in their tiny cars. Some people aren't aware that the money they raise from those events go to fund the Shriner's Hospital for children. When a child goes to that place for rehabilitation their costs are fully covered. Which is pretty amazing if you think about it.

Well, we went to the annual Shriner's Potentate's Ball in Des Moines (money raised at the event goes towards funding the hospitals). It was a hoot. Ever heard of a hospitality room? Me neither. Hospitality rooms are filled with free food and booze! And there were about 30 of them! Each room was hosted by a different group of Shriners from a different part of Iowa or Missouri. After hitting several of these rooms I began to notice that all of the Shriners were covered in enameled pins. I coveted their pins and ached for one. After a few beers I got bold. We were out smoking and I grabbed one of the pin-laden fellows by the arm and asked him,

"How do I get my hands on one of those fancy pins, fine sir?"

He responded,

"all ya gotta do is ask, Sweetheart."

And he pinned three pins on my shirt! A tiny car, a gold one with mushrooms, and a horse. I was in heaven! Pins to add to my ever growing collection of knick knacks. For the next few hours I was a pin-askin' for fool. But, everyone was super nice and helped me out. I was even able to land the elusive St.Joesph Missouri pin. Take that!

All in all. The shriners are a blast to party with. Everyone was hospitable, friendly, dancy, and wonderful. We listened to live bands, wandered around the facilities, watched middle aged people wrestle in a hotel room and enjoyed general merriment. Good times.