Julia is quite the artist, as I'm sure I've told you more than once! I remember when she was three, I drew a jack-o-lantern pumpkin for her and then watched as she replicated it almost perfectly. This, before any art instruction, and also before she could write her name. I realized she was taking in the world, but was trapped with all the information without a filter to release it. After that I sat and watched her go through hour-long sessions, whole stacks of paper spent. She was voracious. Imagine a tiny, plump-cheeked little girl with back hunched over stacks of paper, pencil in hand, drawing like a possessed person. She couldn't speak, so she drew.
Her art is not perfect; she knows she wants to be an artist, but she doesn't seem too concerned with following any scholarly standards at this point. She is just happy to draw what she likes, and that is good enough for me.
Her favorite subjects are My Little Pony, mermaids, and anything beautiful and girly.
The above is computer art with a bit of cheating involved. The cloud and star stamps are added from a program, but the rest is all Julia's work.
This is her own version of a My Little Pony, but made into Rapunzel.
And this is another pony. Not sure which, but I love how long and creepy the body is.
Okay, so even though I said I was giving up singing, it doesn't seem to have given up on me. Mainly it's the songwriting. How can a person try to walk away from the music world when songs keep dropping into their brain? It's simple: they can't. This summer, when I was going to write a novella out in the garage, longhand and with a steady supply of tea and cassette tapes, I found the only thing available came in stanzas and melodic form. Grab your guitar. That's right, honey. Now play.
And now I'm starting to perform out on the town, something I thought I'd never do again. What happened is, when I said never, I forgot that never doesn't exist. Never is a wall, and no matter what, we'll always find a away to get around it. The thoughts in my brain: I'm so glad to be done with performing, but in the inner folds of gray, synaptic cushioning: She'll play again.
It just goes to show, when you stop trying so hard things come forward. Life is like a bullet behind a shield, waiting for an aorta to grab onto.
Dylan's new album Tempest is about to come out. Here's a video for Duquesne Whistle. Warning: it gets violent around the middle-to-end. But I liked the beginning—the actor reminds me of singer Steve Marriott. And, again, Dylan is so vaudevillian. I love it.
Having said all this, I did write 25,000 words of fiction last week. So, all is well in both worlds. Let's see if I can handle the pressure.
I hope everyone had a good weekend and a fun Labor Day. The weather turned out to be pretty darn amazing around here so I have no complaints! Now all we need to look forward to is fall and all the good stuff that comes with that. Though I'll miss summer in general, I won't miss the mosquitos and the drought. Huh-uh. Good-bye to that!
Well, let's get down to business. Today through Thursday The Soul Seekers will be free on Kindle. So, if you or your friends haven't gotten a copy yet, why, tell e'm to head on over to Amazon marketplace to snag themselves a good read.
So, how did your weekend go?
Here's another song to get you through the day. I can't explain why, but this is one of my favorite tunes. Pat Boone is so square, but his vocals are divine. I think he could have been a major sex symbol if he'd allowed himself to be. Another one wasted to good clean living. *snap* Oh well.
This song has been in my head for the last few days. I can't do dishes, laundry or anything without it creeping in. When it does, I have to turn on the record player and dance around.
Hope there's no stinking commercials when you (if you) click.
Sometimes, no joke, I feel like I was born with rock and roll in my blood. And I mean that by saying, no substance, no sunlight, no food, no body, no nothing can wake me up and make my blood flow like good music.
