Weekend Badassery
The problem with a job like mine (and there typically aren't many) is that you are constantly waiting for responses from people; people who are busier than you are. That is what's happening this morning, and I am waiting on some responses for scheduling as I write this.
It is Monday in June, and I am at work being comfortably sleepy and unable to lift my arms up very high.
I went and shot a gun for the first time in my life on Saturday. And it wasn't just a gun, it was a semi-automatic twelve gauge shooting trap. A week ago, I would not have known what that sentence meant.
When I asked Becca what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said, and I quote, "I wanna shoot something." So, Cecily and I looked up some places where we could go shooting. I was looking at indoor, handgun ranges. Cec wanted something a little bigger. Which is why we ended up at the Portland Gun Club late Saturday morning, and learned how to handle a twelve gauge shot gun.
[Click image for photo album]
Shooting trap is basically skeet shooting with twenty-five targets. And that is when your target is being shot up and away from you, and you have to try and hit the damn thing as it's moving. I hit five out of twenty five. Cecily did a whole lot better, having hit fourteen, much to the shock of herself and the rest of us.
Now, my arms are very sore. I had a hard time putting my bra on this morning. But I desperately want to go back as soon as I can so I can get better and learn more. It was so much fun. Cecily and I continuously said to one another, "WHY haven't we thought of this before? We should do this for EVERY BIRTHDAY forevaaaah!"
It's interesting, because I've always wanted to learn how to use a gun and have never had or taken the chance until now. The interesting part is that some of the characters I write have a good amount of experience with guns. One in particular is like Matthew Quigley with her own twelve gauge shot gun, which is kept in her bedroom closet. I suppose it's a good thing that I've actually handled the weapon and have a better idea of how to use it now. Funny how things work out like that.
Being semi-automatic, we didn't have to cock the guns, (which was a little disappointing). You just load the round in and shoot, while also feeling incredibly badass. It's difficult not to feel badass. Even when you miss almost all the targets, you still look badass.
Needless to say, Becca thoroughly enjoyed her birthday (even though it's not officially until tomorrow) and I won't be able to lift my arms over my head for the next couple of days. Totally worth it! And that's another thing I can check off of my "Always Wanted To" list. (I should probably write that up in full, just to see what's on it. I'll probably come back to that.)
On Sunday, I finally decided that I was finished with this:
This didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but I had to stop fiddling with it.
Patrick Stewart is the best subject for portraits for me personally because 1) He is so expressive and 2) There is no hair for me to worry about. I hate drawing hair. *looks in the general direction of BATCH* I barely have the patience to blacken the paper with charcoal and smear it all around in the shapes that I want much less sit there and put in enough detail to make those smears look like actual hair. The same goes for when I sculpt in clay. I'm not freaking Michelangelo here! I take my hat off to those artists who sit there and delicately sketch out every detail, light and shadow of a head of hair. You are a better person than I.
That is the thing with my drawing. It is a way for me to relax. For me, it's a hobby. And yet, I was working on this last weekend when Mom came in. She gets kind of mock-huffy-frustrated with me because she thinks that I should be doing something more with this ... whatever it is you want to call this thing that I do. I continue to tell her that I can barely get my brain to sit still long enough to even do this. I am the most impatient artist you will ever see. That's why most of my portraits have a rough, unfinished look to them. Because that's what they are! And it's kind of turned into my style. Fine with me. Anything more fine-tipped and I pull my hair out. That's what I never understood about artists who painstakingly put in so much detail that the drawing is absolutely flawless, and some people actually believe it's a photograph. Instead of marveling at the artistry of it all, I'm the one standing in the back screaming, "Why didn't you just take a picture then?!" (That is, of course, when the artist is going for strict realism, without altering the reality of what they're seeing by changing the color, the shapes and so forth.)
And that my friends, is why it is so incredibly astounding that I have stuck with writing for so long. Yes, I have multiple projects in the works, which can also be quantified as a result of that - whatever that problem is, but I've still stuck with it. Everyone should be bloody amazed!
I'm going to start a new one this week. This time, the subject will be a classic. :)
Speaking of classic, I'm not usually a Tumblr type of person, but I have recently found the greatest website to ever have existed. And it happens to be a Tumbler blog. Star Trek Gifs
It covers all of Trek, every show, every movie, even the animated series. There are also lovely gems of outtakes (even from the OS). And it will keep you occupied for hours, trust me. I've gone back through the pages into the three hundreds, but I still haven't seen them all yet.
I'm finished waiting for responses. Now I really don't have anything to do.
It is Monday in June, and I am at work being comfortably sleepy and unable to lift my arms up very high.
I went and shot a gun for the first time in my life on Saturday. And it wasn't just a gun, it was a semi-automatic twelve gauge shooting trap. A week ago, I would not have known what that sentence meant.
When I asked Becca what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said, and I quote, "I wanna shoot something." So, Cecily and I looked up some places where we could go shooting. I was looking at indoor, handgun ranges. Cec wanted something a little bigger. Which is why we ended up at the Portland Gun Club late Saturday morning, and learned how to handle a twelve gauge shot gun.
[Click image for photo album]
Shooting trap is basically skeet shooting with twenty-five targets. And that is when your target is being shot up and away from you, and you have to try and hit the damn thing as it's moving. I hit five out of twenty five. Cecily did a whole lot better, having hit fourteen, much to the shock of herself and the rest of us.
Now, my arms are very sore. I had a hard time putting my bra on this morning. But I desperately want to go back as soon as I can so I can get better and learn more. It was so much fun. Cecily and I continuously said to one another, "WHY haven't we thought of this before? We should do this for EVERY BIRTHDAY forevaaaah!"
It's interesting, because I've always wanted to learn how to use a gun and have never had or taken the chance until now. The interesting part is that some of the characters I write have a good amount of experience with guns. One in particular is like Matthew Quigley with her own twelve gauge shot gun, which is kept in her bedroom closet. I suppose it's a good thing that I've actually handled the weapon and have a better idea of how to use it now. Funny how things work out like that.
Being semi-automatic, we didn't have to cock the guns, (which was a little disappointing). You just load the round in and shoot, while also feeling incredibly badass. It's difficult not to feel badass. Even when you miss almost all the targets, you still look badass.
Needless to say, Becca thoroughly enjoyed her birthday (even though it's not officially until tomorrow) and I won't be able to lift my arms over my head for the next couple of days. Totally worth it! And that's another thing I can check off of my "Always Wanted To" list. (I should probably write that up in full, just to see what's on it. I'll probably come back to that.)
On Sunday, I finally decided that I was finished with this:
This didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but I had to stop fiddling with it.
Patrick Stewart is the best subject for portraits for me personally because 1) He is so expressive and 2) There is no hair for me to worry about. I hate drawing hair. *looks in the general direction of BATCH* I barely have the patience to blacken the paper with charcoal and smear it all around in the shapes that I want much less sit there and put in enough detail to make those smears look like actual hair. The same goes for when I sculpt in clay. I'm not freaking Michelangelo here! I take my hat off to those artists who sit there and delicately sketch out every detail, light and shadow of a head of hair. You are a better person than I.
That is the thing with my drawing. It is a way for me to relax. For me, it's a hobby. And yet, I was working on this last weekend when Mom came in. She gets kind of mock-huffy-frustrated with me because she thinks that I should be doing something more with this ... whatever it is you want to call this thing that I do. I continue to tell her that I can barely get my brain to sit still long enough to even do this. I am the most impatient artist you will ever see. That's why most of my portraits have a rough, unfinished look to them. Because that's what they are! And it's kind of turned into my style. Fine with me. Anything more fine-tipped and I pull my hair out. That's what I never understood about artists who painstakingly put in so much detail that the drawing is absolutely flawless, and some people actually believe it's a photograph. Instead of marveling at the artistry of it all, I'm the one standing in the back screaming, "Why didn't you just take a picture then?!" (That is, of course, when the artist is going for strict realism, without altering the reality of what they're seeing by changing the color, the shapes and so forth.)
And that my friends, is why it is so incredibly astounding that I have stuck with writing for so long. Yes, I have multiple projects in the works, which can also be quantified as a result of that - whatever that problem is, but I've still stuck with it. Everyone should be bloody amazed!
I'm going to start a new one this week. This time, the subject will be a classic. :)
Speaking of classic, I'm not usually a Tumblr type of person, but I have recently found the greatest website to ever have existed. And it happens to be a Tumbler blog. Star Trek Gifs
It covers all of Trek, every show, every movie, even the animated series. There are also lovely gems of outtakes (even from the OS). And it will keep you occupied for hours, trust me. I've gone back through the pages into the three hundreds, but I still haven't seen them all yet.
I'm finished waiting for responses. Now I really don't have anything to do.