Today’s Freaky Friday is all about embracing your inner child again which ultimately helps you become a happier adult person inside. It seems so simple and ridiculous but it really is true I’m finding out. So for today, I’m sharing the fact that I’ve always loved building plastic model cars since I was a kid. I haven’t properly built and finished a car model since high school, mind you, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about it. Through the years I’ve been collecting a few 1970’s cars here and there along with an 80’s snow plow which are all pictured below for today's Freaky Friday share. I’m also not ready to let go of winter yet as you can see by the plow post, but it’s becoming glaringly obvious that I need to.

I will let you know that I have future plans to use said models in some of my museum series pieces down the road, but first you have to build the models before one’s vision of grandeur can fully be realized. And that takes time you hadn't originally factored in. So over the past year, I’ve realized that I have had to become my own project manager. That’s both a liberating and terrifying sensation especially when you have many interests and mood changes. This blog has helped me keep motivated and focused and I’m really grateful for that which is why I continue. Thank you for stopping by and checking in today. Please keep safe and well this weekend everyone!

I've been working in the studio and hiding inside the quiet world of color and it has been glorious and the only way I am achieving any sort of inner peace of any kind. So instead of new stuff, the closeup today is a retrospective of a couple watercolors I did WAY the hell back in art school (1992-1993) range that only exists in slide format (flood casualty). The first watercolor is that of an old English telephone booth that existed in real life near school in the Third Ward District of Milwaukee and when the sun came up in the morning, and we’d walk past it on the way to school, the booth really was that vibrantly red on this white brick wall from the sun so I took a picture of it and decided to do this piece. I have no recollection of what the blonde haired boy drawing on the sidewalk is all about.

The second piece centers around a movie, “To Be Alive!” I saw as a kid that they showed only at The Golden Rondelle Movie Theater in Racine in the 1970’s. I’ve scanned in the cover of the book to give you all a visual idea of where I was headed. In the film they do a lot of split screen moving images on white space effects and I wanted to recapture that somehow with all of my white space. The drawing of the crabby ass little girl on the left is a drawing of me from an old photo taken in the 1970’s in our backyard in Racine, WI. I originally intended for the pencil drawing to remain a pencil drawing in the final piece as some contrast to the watercolor's "color".

I love the bassline in this song. It kind of reminds me of Aaron Johnson’s live bass playing at Sweet Jelly gigs. Infectious and most of all: FUN. And that makes me happy. Along with the words to this song. I remain vigilant (though not terribly successful) in my battle against spring’s erratic and chaotic energy with music therapy and singing. And that’s what Carolaoke on Mondays is all about. Please keep well everybody. Vibes be crazy out there.

Today’s Freaky Friday showcases Fozzie Bear drawings of mine from 1979-1980 range. I’ve been doing a lot of “inner child work” lately so I thought posting these were appropriate. I have no idea why there is a version in color and one in black and white. I’ve also included the rest of my alphabet from kindergarten as Freaky Friday bonus material(!) Please keep safe and well.

Spring continues to be chaotic and raw for me so let's talk watercolor today because it's quiet. Revisiting old work is challenging. In one way you see all the mistakes you made; how you'd do it differently because you're so great now, and also at that same moment, you're intimidated by your own work that you made back then figuring you couldn't possibly come close to that TODAY with all this time passing so why even bother to continue. That's a pretty messed up state to be in. That's one, of a couple things, I've been working on over here.

The three pieces I've put up today were all done at different times. The tiger barb was done in 2019 and that is the one I'm having the most trouble living with. It's the first time I've actually "colored in the background" and didn't have white space around my subject matter. Currently I'm on the fence if I attempt more "colored in backgrounds" (or not) with future pieces. I also think this piece got a little too muddy and oversaturated for my taste. I used a new watercolor paper for the tiger barb that I'm still not sure I'm going to use for my straight up watercolor pieces. It definitely reacts differently as the paint and water dries compared to the other paper I've been using for decades.

These pieces today are ACEO's (art trading cards) and have to be a specific size to be considered that. But when cutting the finished piece to fit that criteria, it drives me crazy that the piece totally changes into something else and I have to resist the urge to throw it away. Or burn it outside. I know I should draw smaller and make it fit inside, but that 's not how my drawing tends to be. These three pieces were not casualties of the 2018 Flood and exist in the physical world inside a waterproof container for future consideration. Enjoy, and thank you for stopping by. Please keep well during this stormy season.