Cuddletown: Montezuma's Castle

This post has nothing to do with MOntezuma's Castle. Does that even exist? I'm too lazy to google it.

After my update last nite, I didn't think I was going to do any more work, but my persistence impressed me and I did....three more to be exact.

As I was drawing, if I even considered censoring myself, I told myself to shut up and keep doing it cause I am just an instrument for wherever these images are coming from and I needed to just do my job making physical what was floating in my head.

I reread The War of Art by Steven Pressfield in about a day and a half. THis book is amazing if you experience procrastination regularly...especially regarding what it is that you most want to do. It talks about Resistance being a negative force which manifests itself as any way to distract us from sitting down and doing our work. Resistance is so sneaky....it can come in any form and it exists to keep you from fullfilling your destiny.

What I especially love about the book is that he also talks about muses and angels...how they whisper ideas into our heads and they want so badly for us to bring these visions into being. It makes me smile when I read it because it aligns so beautifully with my own beliefs.

Maybe I'll make a ritual out of it...Before I sit down to start a day's work.....play a prince song and burn some insence or spray the room with Febreeze to create that feeling. LMAO...

Here's what I was up to last nite. I was particularly happy with these and excited about them. :)

Here's the first of these three. I've been doodling Abe in a grocery bag for some time now, with a french bread. LOL. I thought the paper bag would be beautiful on the particle board because of the board's natural colour and grain.

Closeup. I only added a bit of shading on the paper bag and the rest o the colour is the raw board, which I think works really well, and I must say I am in love with the effect :)

This one almost didn't happen. I wasn't happy with the drawing. I wanted to make a toast but it looked strange...so I erased the toast bit. I figured, I'll just do it and see what happens. This was the point where I was censoring myself. But I just sucked it up and did it, and I'm pretty happy with it. This one and the first are both placemat sized.

Reading a book about Lincoln's memory and impact on modern day America, there was a chapter about Lincoln impersonators. The cars of these impersonators have funny abe inspired vanity plates on their cars, such as "abe lives" and etc. One of which was "4 score", and that made me laugh so hard....like Lincoln texting someone or writing in a Prince style (where every song is like, U are the 1 4 Me ....LOL). The quote I stumbled upon through some online reading:

Not all of Mr. Lincoln's friends shared his sense of humor. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson was one. Several others were in his Cabinet. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton said that before he announced the draft Emancipation Proclamation, Mr. Lincoln "was reading a book of some kind, which seemed to amuse him. It was a little book. He finally turned to us and said: 'Gentlemen, did you ever read anything from Artemus Ward? Let me read you a chapter that is very funny.' Not a member of the Cabinet smiled; as for myself, I was angry, and looked to see what the President meant. It seemed to me like buffoonery. He, however, concluded to read us a chapter from Artemus Ward, which he did with great deliberation, and, having finished, laughed heartily, without a member of the Cabinet joining in the laughter. 'Well,' he said, 'let's have another chapter,' and he read another chapter, to our great astonishment. I was considering whether I should rise and leave the meeting abruptly, when he threw his book down, heaved a sigh, and said: 'Gentlemen, why don't you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die, and you need this medicine as much as I do.'" (from Mr. Lincoln and Friends)

That quote really struck a chord with me. Why, isn't that exactly what I was trying to do by drawing Lincoln in all manner of fun circumstances? YES. What an amazing reinforcement.

The two side by side.

And another coaster sized bitty one..... an Eggbraham Lincoln! The text came to me in a flash of inspiration. It works well I think and helps push my message!!