I am a hack.

Or at least I feel that way. Tonight I sat next to an art teacher. Someone who is paid to doooooooooo art. I, I am not paid to do art. I make it up as I go. Tonight I got funny looks as I thinned the $hit out of my acrylic paints to lay down a base layer. When asked about what I was doing I tried to explain as patiently as possible I was building a base layer, and this is just how I work, sometimes. Sometimes I slather it on with a trowel. But this one I'm trying to be careful (kinda) because I have a buyer for this painting. He saw a picture I took and asked for it as a painting. So I'm giving it a shot. Where do I show? For this event I'm showing at the bar on the boardwalk. Otherwise, I don't. I actually had to be talked into participating. Local art competitions? I swore off them earlier this summer. You're interested in having me paint your restaurant? Um, here is my card, I'm going to be up here this weekend, or tomorrow & I'll get some photos & work up some sketches. (side note: I still need to get sketches to 2 Shy Brew in Roseburg. I'm aware they are 8 months overdue. I'm not Catholic, but I a familiar with guilt. Don't worry Paul, I feel it!) (Sidenote #2: How much do I charge for that? $50/ square foot? Because I'm an unknown? Up the price $5/sq ft for every painting I sell? Ryan, the painting you want is $350) Return: I never expected to be serious about this artist gig. It is currently part of what fills my spare time. Along with friends, family & horrible bad habits. I got rid of the boyfriend, I have few obligations outside of work, so if I wanted too I could commit a lot more time to this. And tonight, after the feedback? I want to. I want to eat, sleep, breathe & the other two basic bodily functions that define animals this art/painting/photography/block printing/ figure drawing gig. Thank you to all of you with negative feedback who held your tongues. The kids who came & watched with jaws on their chests? They were the best! Also I'm pretty thrilled with what I got done tonight so as soon as I finish this beer (artists get to drink in bars by themselves, no questions asked) I'll go home & continue the painting I started tonight some more. Finally, I'm really grateful to my best friend for coming to sit in the cold with me.

Faceplant

Couple weeks ago I was minding my own business traversing the stairs as I do, half asleep, craving more sleep without a cat sitting on my bladder. Coming down the stairs I tripped & faceplanted, my head making impact with the floor, traveling a vertical distance of like 9 ft within milliseconds. Not being injured, I went back to bed and went to work where i relayed I was grateful for an easy night/help and told the story. The following Monday some weenie called in with sunburn. I was horrified that was an excuse as I had come in after faceplanting. This sent my bosses into an uncontrollable giggle fit. Apparently I can bring a smile to my brother in law's (who is my boss) by reminding him of my trip down the stairs.

Sooooooooo yesterday after a hard week I had promised to bring in homemade pie if my newest teammate reminded me to wake up today & bake it. She did text to wake me up, at 1 PM which is early considering it was a 12 hour night for both of us. Thinking it would be wise to wear pants while baking I put some pj's on & tried to climb the stairs to the kitchen. My pants are ill fitting and caused me to trip going up the stairs, faceplanting into the wall. Relaying this to my boss made the pie that much more delicious for my boss.
Do you feel the love?

Bang Bang Bang

I think it is safe to say most educated adults find trophy hunting reprehensible. Not the type where you join community rec leagues & try to beat other aging youths for a plastic cup on a faux marble base. I'm talking about going out with a big gun you've never held before and having someone lead you to a large animal and taking aim  and shooting an animal for no other purpose than to pose with the dead carcass. Because the meat isn't edible and it is illegal to possess the body part. i.e. rhino horn. 


This isn't something we come across in the course of our day to day lives, it is something I should think about more, with my degree being in zoology. But I don't, so when I came face to face with this in my world far removed from zoos and safaris and in my life that consists of WORK and FINDING A SCHOOL and MONEY and BEER and DIET and PAINTING and all my wonky priorities it smacked me & smacked me hard.


PEOPLE STILL PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO SHOOT INNOCENT ANIMALS FOR THE THRILL OF THE KILL.


I've been crying over this for 2 days.  Because it happened. It is still happening. And I was reminded in the harshest way possible. Some of the tears shed were probably in disappointment that I had forgotten. 


This is happening across the world, but worse yet, in the United States. A supposed first world nation allows men (and woman) to pay a large fee to hunt exotic species. Don't believe me? 

• http://www.continentalranchtexas.com/exotics.htm
• http://www.huntingtexastrophies.com/
• http://www.circleeranch.com/

Or Google search "exotic trophy hunt texas" yourself. Most of these animals are not listed as endangered species, but are unfortunate to be easily bred exotics.  When I worked at an AZA accredited animal park we had more eland, barbary sheep, and zebra born every year than our open range park could accommodate. But sometimes these trophy outfits get lucky and non-accredited "zoos" have going out of business sales and charismatic mega fauna (i.e. rhinoceros, giraffe, elephants, lions) are auctioned off. Don't believe me?

http://www.outofafricapark.com/animal_rescue.html

This link will take you to a page telling about Boom Boom, a male white rhino with a story with a happy ending.  At the time I was working at a park that received Jack, the other male rhino from the Catskills Game Farm auction, courtesy of Marc Ecko. 


Are you wondering about what it would cost to shoot an rhino? According to this man it was $35,000. Another site states "These hunts are not cheap, as Thormählen is pricing them upwards of $250,000." in reference to Thromalen & Cochran Safaris.


I'm at a loss. I can't act on the images I encountered. I've asked to never be sent to the site again, but I'm feeling helpless to stop this. I know as a nation a trade and travel embargo against nations that allow for hunting of endangered species is far fetched and there are many human rights issues that are going to take priority. So I feel first we need to ban trophy hunting at home.


I want to be clear. I AM NOT AGAINST HUNTING ANIMALS YOU INTEND TO EAT. I AM AGAINST HUNTING ANIMALS YOU INTEND TO HANG ON THE WALL OR POSE WITH THE DEAD BODIES OF. There is no purpose other to glorify your own ego.


To be continued...