I'm going to be very busy in the studio working on SPN61, and on top of that I just got 6 commission orders, so I'm almost 90% sure I'm going to be bogged down for the rest of the year, since I have other commissions and projects I'm still working on. Still, I want to start posting more here on the blog, but between sculpting SPN61 and drawing the concepts for these new commissions, I'm not going to be able to post all that much.
Well, I heard about the Copperfox 10 day challenge, and I thought, "That's perfect!"
So many things inspire me, to be honest. I could be sitting here, staring at the wall, doing nothing but listen to music, and then I'd get an idea and want to spring into action. In fact, one of the reasons why I moved to my current location was because it keeps my creativity flowing.
Back in Ohio, I would
constantly hit creative blocks. I'd be jumping around everywhere, wanting to write one moment, wanting to draw the next, wanting to sculpt, to paint models... and then I'd just hit a dry spell, and that dry spell could last months. I'd bring my drawing binder with me whenever I'd leave the house, because I always felt more motivated to draw at other places.
Of course, by the time that I had picked up the pencil, I no longer wanted to draw, because I didn't know what
to draw. I had gotten so used to just drawing horses, that they became my go-to subject. People always asked me why I didn't draw other things, and the truth was, I didn't know what else to draw.
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| A cartoony sketch of the Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare unicorn I did in 2013 while visiting Dad. |
Then, one time that I was visiting family here in town, my aunt got in the truck and I hopped in the bed, and we headed up into the mountains. We went to old surface mines, up to a lake she knows about, and then, while the sun was setting, we'd set out to try and see how many abandoned graveyards we could find before 3AM. I know, it's not the most
normal thing someone can do, but it really inspired me. We were isolated out there. Just... alone, in the mountains, with nothing but trees, the deep rumbling growl of the engine, and the night sky around us. Plus the occasional rabbit or snake, or deer, but it was mostly just us.
Sometimes, when we'd find this open stretch of a gravel road and a valley view on one side, we would stop the truck, and turn it off. Everything would instantly fall silent, and all you could hear was the distant chirps of tree frogs and crickets. They always seemed to be a mile away, because we could whisper and hear each other loud and clear. By the time our eyes had adjusted, we could only see maybe 10 to 20 feet around us. Everything in the distance was just pitch black. We would laugh and each (there were 4 of us) take turns running into the darkness and then shuffling back, groaning and wobbling like a zombie.
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This was taken on one such open gravel road during the sunset.
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It was really peaceful out there... I felt at home.
We went out almost every day to try and find a new trail; a new destination to journey to. Most of the places were in the same areas as the trails we had already explored, but that's the beauty of this place. When I drive the road to town, I'm
constantly finding new trailheads to wander down. It makes me look forward to having a horse more and more.
Anyway, one of the places we had ventured to, required us to get out of the truck and walk. The trees were barely carved into a tunnel, and we were constantly running into spider webs. It was incredibly dark through there, with the tree branches and lower shrubs reaching their limbs out at us from both sides.
We kept on, though, with the promise of a brook, fueling the adventure. We'd hit occasional open spots, where the canopies would retreat and you could see the sky overhead. The trail ahead looked like nothing but a dark, black pit.
The trail went on for a while, but it was relatively short compared to some others that we had been on. Still, it made for some beautiful photography, if you could find the right lighting.
Eventually, the sound of gurgling water grew louder, and the trail started to open up. The brook could be seen just up ahead, but I didn't know what to expect. At first I was slightly disappointed, because it looked no bigger than a small mountain stream...
I was wrong. The trees opened up to a wide, rocky bank, with a shallow, but wide, brook flowing cleanly over the shale. I immediately kicked off my boots and ran into the water.
The water quickly got too deep for me to travel without ruining my phone, so I had to stay in the shallow side and try to get some photos justifying the beauty of the place.
I failed. This is truly a place you just have to see for yourself to understand and experience the full effect of.
It's my understanding that the trail leads across the brook, and that leads to one of my favourite campsites. No one can say for sure, and I don't remember how to get here, so I guess we'll never know... unless Bill would be nice enough to take me back here.
Every time we head out into the mountains, I always feel energized. I always come back wanting to draw, or to be creative, or to write. I love it here. It's like my own personal antidepressant.
And honestly, with my own back yard looking like this, how can I not feel inspired?
That's all that I have for today!
Over and Out!
