The Traditionally Non-Traditional Hot Rod

 

I know what it looks like- "Hey arent you just using the same content from IG and FB here?". Technically yes, but also no. What I've learned from my years as an artist on social media is that I basically have to do the abbreviated version of everything on those platforms. Two sentences explaining why what I do should hold your attention is quite difficult, especially every day the way I do it. And pieces take hours and sometimes days, yet Im still to try to fit it all in to this minimalist typed space because well, people dont social media to read long posts. At least not on my posts, as I've found. So that brings be back to the beginning here- part of what I had loved about writing blog posts years ago here was that I could be as long format as I want, share photos, videos, links, prints, paintings... pretty much anything without feeling constrained. In fact, some of the best things I was writing 10+ years ago was right here, long before I joined the IG and FB. Ahhh it was a different time. A simpler time. In truth, I loove to write long posts over explaining things and sharing more of who I am comes with a lot more words. 

Maybe now I can finally get around to the actual post here- the artwork it self. This drawing is from 2016, and is one of my favorite pieces of content to share on social media almost purely because of the style. A loose sketch done using a Blue Erasable Prismacolor pencil followed by marker tones done using Chartpak markers, a little airbrushing courtesy of an Iwata with Golden Fluid Acrylic paints, and final details done using White Acrylic Paint for highlights. What I like about this drawing is that it is incredibly simple, but also thorough enough to show the hot rod idea I had at the time. And even being a 4 year old drawing, to me it still holds up. Some of my paintings from last year dont age as well as this has. But that's the simplicity of sketching- ideas dont have to be the full story, they are more suggestive. In fact, the more you leave to the imagination, the better (up to a point). When I'm drawing/painting, im often trying to figure out what to leave out, not how to add more in and just make noise. Simplify Simplify Simplify. That doesn't mean dont add details, that means add details where it matters. Sure, a more fully realized painting is going to have more details, and it should. But a concept sketch should leave some room to move forward with. Even here I probably got a little carried away and in truth I often do. At the very least if I start really simple it's much easier to ramp up then starting with so much detail that it's overwhelming to keep going and it can just feel like it's endless. 

Well that's my ramblings for the day on this one. Already super excited to rediscover there's a place on Ocean Avenue... oh wait that's a song. What I meant was there's a home for all my wordage that I never get to use anywhere else. Doesn't even matter if no one sees this, Im still glad to be able to do it anyways. Admittedly if more people did see it it does make it easier to keep at it, so there's that. Also if you made it this far and are even remotely interested in a signed and numbered print of this particular piece they are available right here: https://www.pinstripechris.com/store/Traditionally-NonTraditional-Hot-Rod-p90495235

Have a good one!

#carsketch #cardesign #drawing #sketching #hotrod #concept #sketch #rendering #hotrods #markerrendering #designstudio #creative #process #carart #industrialdesign 

Live Your Dreams

Happy Sunday, fellow humans! I'm sitting here this morning having coffee looking at the beach (as I do most mornings), but reflecting a bit more then usual. My morning routine is far from routine, but I like to use some of my wake up time to remind myself that we're lucky to be here, and all the hard work and chaotic times were worth it. We definitely have worked very hard to be here and have accomplished a lot in a short time, but for once, I'm looking more forwards then backwards. Which strangely has me looking backwards as well- in this case to when we originally set our goals and assessing how the journey has been. I don't believe I've ever written about it but I'd like to share this part of our journey:

Just over 4 years ago my wife Caity and I left our Maryland lives behind to move to California to start on a new adventure in our lives in hopes of a fresh start moving forward. Sounds like a fairy tale, right? It gets better- we bought 1 way plane tickets 2 weeks before we left, brought with us only what we could fit into 2 backpacks, and headed to Cali with no jobs lined up, no car, and no for sure place to live. We put all out ambition into Plan A and never once considered a back up plan. Many of the people we knew and worked with back east had told us how badly we would fail at this idea, but we didn't need anyone's approval to live our dreams. And much of that negativity is what we wanted to get away from in the 1st place anyways. We landed in Santa Ana, destined for Huntington Beach- a place I had visited a few years earlier checking out an art school and fell in love with the area. We got our rental car and headed out on to the roads of Orange County to check out the area while the sun was still up. Later that evening we met some people via a Craigslist ad looking for roommates that we would end up living with for a few months and becoming great friends. Our 1st week here both Caity and I landed jobs- me at a local hot rod shop as an apprentice, and Caity at Disney Land. Both pretty sweet jobs, I think! The same week I bought us a 1974 Vw Beetle as our everyday transportation which added quite a bit to the fun of life (this Vw was in no way in concourse condition, but never left us stranded). This was just the beginning of our fresh start.

I'll share what progressed next in another reflection post, but what I wanted to really get at is that we were able to hit the ground running here despite what people were telling us. In our 1st week here we got right in to the groove of life and have been working hard ever since. Our lives are quite a bit different now, but the route is commitment to success, just as it always has been. I'm not saying quit your job to become a rock star (which you are more then welcome to do), I'm saying you can be anything you want to be if you are truly driven by it. No matter what, there is going to be a lot of practice, trial and error, new people, new bosses, new everything- you just have to stick with it with your goal in mind. It's easy to get distracted or discouraged when you see how well someone else is doing or you don't see progress as fast as you'd like, but life is a journey- you have to see it all the way thru. 

And to digress to my original statement about looking forward today rather then looking back (although I've now spent a lot of time looking back)- With such a fun journey to get here, I am super excited about what is ahead of us. While our goals were clear, we still could have never predicted where it would ultimately land us. And now as we've met so many of our biggest goals, it's time to create new seemingly impossible goals to work towards.

One of my favorite quotes of all times about success, and is something I agree with very much:

"There's no reason to have a Plan B because it distracts from Plan A"
-Will Smith

Have a great Sunday, everyone! Feel free to share some of your stories with us- we always love to hear about the journeys of others!