Category / writing

by Janet

Summer in the City

“Hot town, summer in the city,

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.

Been down, isn’t it a pity,

Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city.

All around, people looking half-dead,

Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head…”

-The Lovin’ Spoonful

So… I got carried away with effects again! But this time I’m really happy about it because it got my wheels spinning.

This image started out as a photograph that my son took some time ago. He borrowed my camera when he went hiking because he was trying to learn a little about photography.

He is now out of state, but I found the images he shot when I reclaimed my camera from his storage space. It was so funny to look at them because the things that he photographed were the same exact things that I would’ve shot if I had been there. Maybe the things that our eyes favor runs in our genes or something.

Anyway, the bench in the photo is an actual bench that you would come upon if you hiked to the top of a particular trail around Burbank or L.A. here. Don’t ask me where because I don’t think I’ve been there and if I have I’ve certainly never made it to the top. Ha-ha! Here’s a copy of the original just for kicks…

I did a little blurring to the background of the photograph and then created the sun worshipper in Illustrator. It was still pretty boring, so I ran it through a Photoshop app on my iPhone and found an urban-like overlay.

What’s funny is that once it was finished it reminded me of how it used to feel when my friends and I would lounge in the sun in our backyards (or sometimes front yards or even a back alley or two when we were desperate).

When you grow up in the city (even if it was a little more like suburbia back in the day), you never really know what you’re missing until you experience raw nature. And once you do that – come to understand what the “natural” world is really like – it’s pretty damn hard to go back to things like backyard sun bathing.

So this artwork actually takes me back. Put a cocktail in her hand, and a Cosmopolitan magazine on her lap, and that woman is me in the 70s or 80s. Ha! Worshipping the sun gods in my luxurious lounge chair with a spectacular view that overlooks… well… more concrete.

Anyway, it was fun to be reminded of those days… a little nostalgia, you know? It wasn’t really that bad, and – at the time – it was all I really knew. I like that the bench looks the same because hikers who are familiar with the spot could actually recognize it.

I appreciate that the girl was actually illustrated too, because it gives her that “fake” look… like she’s had a few too many plastic surgeries. It’s “summer in the city” for sure. Maybe even Hollywood.

So… that’s about all for now. I’m going to work on something dreamy next… something a little more natural. Maybe another beach scene.

In the meantime… thanks for reading / viewing. I hope you enjoyed!

by Janet

Six Word Story –

– There’s a mouse in the house. –

I thought my illustration and six word story might be a fun break from the Alphabet Game.

Plus, I’m going to veer into uncharted territory for the letter “P,” and I need time to organize and prepare. I’m going to familiarize myself with the elements of a PLOT, and it’s going to take me six posts to do that. Don’t worry… they won’t be too wordy!

That being said, that’s about all for now. Thank you so much for reading or viewing!

I hope you enjoyed the six word story and illustration. The characters (the young woman and the mouse) will be back for my six post exploration of the elements of a plot. I hope you stay tuned!

Until then,

Peace & Love!

by Janet

Optimism

I thought I’d piggyback on my previous post (Naivety) so that I could bring some positivity back to the game. When I talked about naivety, I wasn’t expressing my beliefs (I don’t walk around angry) – I was simply pondering the word, it’s meaning, and what the word means to me.

That being said, it went a wee bit against my grain, which is normally optimistic. I actually think that naivety and optimism may have a few things in common, so this was the perfect “O” word for tonight.

Naivety appears to be the belief that people or things are good (or safe) – because the naïve individual is not aware that anything contrary to “good” exists. They lack experience.

Optimism, on the other hand, may be it’s more experienced counterpart. An optimist knows that bad exists, but he or she still believes that everything is (or will be) good. They believe this ‘in spite’ of the knowledge that bad things (or people) exist – not because they don’t have a clue. That’s where discernment comes in.

The definitions I found for optimism are “hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something,” and “the tendency to be hopeful and to emphasize or think of the good part in a situation rather than the bad part.”

So… it’s pretty clear that optimism is not naivety. It’s about being deliberate. I’m pretty sure no one ‘chooses’ to be naïve – it’s like something we’re born with… something that escapes us as we learn about the world. But optimism appears to be a choice.

Anyway, I did an illustration for my thoughts on Optimism and I think it’s… OK. (I wish I could be more optimistic about it!) It’s not what I saw in my head but it will have to do. Perhaps if the girl were smiling it might be more convincing. Haha!

Speaking of things not looking like what we imagined… I went to my first painting class last night. Don’t ask me how, but I ended up with a canvas that was covered in lime green. Sopping wet with way too much paint. Every time I painted something I didn’t like I just brushed over the whole canvas and blended the colors together. So I painted A LOT.

I realized, while in bed, that what happened was the result of using a large brush. Of course you can’t paint details with a big brush… what was I thinking?! I’m used to my keyboard and mouse… not brushes! I’ve been… well… very naïve when it comes to painting! Now I know that bad painting exists (haha!), so I’m looking forward to trying again next week.

I’m making my way through the Alphabet Game a lot quicker than I’d intended because it’s giving me time to think before I go back to telling stories. I need to ponder more ideas on that end… and I’ll talk about it more when I write about the “P” word… (SPOILER ALERT!!)

………… Plot.

That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading or viewing, I hope you enjoyed something here!

I’ll see you soon!