Recently I’ve acquired an awesome Guided By Voices mix. Needless to say I’m a fan. Robert Pollard writes pretty amazing lyrics not to mention the music has a lo-fi sound but it’s catchy as shit! I started effing around and doodling as I was tuning in and out and back in again.
“Hey Aardvark where’s my ashtray, Put it in my room so I can smoke, Let’s hire a race car driver, Drive through the park and just tell jokes, And if it costs too much, I’ll foot the bill, Because I will, Oh oh I would like that, Oh oh i would like that.”
Where's My Ashtray: Ink on Paper/ Photoshop background
On break at work doodles. Here is a baby fetus skull with a light-weighted bird body. It was actually inspired by a song about realizing the capability of ever becoming a lover is impossible. Fly baby, Fly!
Fly Baby, Fly! (I'll never be a lover) Ink on Paper
It is Friday. I can not wake up for the hell of me, I probably should have laid off the wine last night knowing I had work in the morning. Then again, I should probably do a lot of things knowing I have work. Anywho! To keep awake and productive I am doing mini sketches and because coffee is my companion today, I am featuring my eternal love for this delicious caffeinated liquid and the only forgivable reason for taking it away from me! Dawww!
World's Best Cup Of...God Dammit Cat! - Ink on paper (doodle)
Sketching animal skulls eating toy skulls is currently my “free-time sketch series.” Maybe I will have a series complete of them soon! I mean c’mon, do animal skulls ever go out of style?
When I have the television on I can never just sit there. I have to draw, or paint, or eat. I have a small appetite to drawing it is most times. Day in the life of Brandi. Black & White.
I was just listening to the newest Radiolab episode and my hands could not seem to relax. I even managed to unintentionally organize everything on my desk in height, so after tapping my fingers on the desk to the sound of the radiator I just whipped out some paint and started to “paint doodle” I would call it. It’s a half ass painting/ not paying attention but more I posted the pic cause I wanna prove to my buddy Clint that I am in fact wearing a towel on my head because I am procrastinating going outside in the snow. It is very warm inside, just like it is in a uterus.
I’ve recently come across an extremely well-done and inspiring video about the John Muir Trail on Vimeo.com that captured the beauty of backpacking and the beauty of exploring nature in America. If you happened to watch the Ken Burns documentary on American National Parks, I was one of those folks that became emotional towards the end. If you’ve backpacked before you understand. There is something about being out in the middle of nature with nothing but a pack, some water, enough food to survive on and time. You learn more about yourself and others than you ever thought you would or could and no matter what you go through while you are out there, you always have a urgency to go back. Sure, to an unexperienced backpackers mind it is all just a hippie gathering full of drum circles and drugs but for that I just smile. The ignorant can only find out for themselves how amazing this country can be if they take the time to appreciate it’s free beauty. Here is the video:
In 2009 I met a lot of amazing folks on the Appalachian Trail. I would have to say those days were some of the most eye opening days of my life outside of Africa. I realized how real and amazing people can be, I felt at home and within minutes and with one introduction we felt we knew one another for years, after all, we were there for the same reason and that’s sometimes enough to understand a person. Everyone on the AT (Appalachian Trail) at some point if thru-hiking gets a trail name ( & a beard if you’re a guy), Forever you remember that person by their trail name because that is what will suit them the rest of their life in your memories. While I was out there I drew a few doodles of some of the hikers I met.
My Doodles of Thru-Hikers on the Appalachian Trail 2009
The John Muir Trail has been on my list of trails to complete in my lifetime. That video reminded me that I still have time to take advantage of and get my ass working on a plan to high-five that goal! Experiences inspire art, and art inspires the world. Make it so!
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
To follow more of the Almost There: The Muir Project, check out their website
Tis the season to be thoughtful. Sometimes when the holidays settle down and my brain has time to jump around through thoughts that have been pushed aside to allow the day-to-day actions to be completed & I always end up sailing deep into memory lane when I was in Uganda, Africa. To not turn this blog post into a large emotional journal entry, I will keep this simple. August-October 2010 I had a lot of money saved up from working. I refuse to use my money for pointless things that I really do not need so I decided to go to Africa. I applied to teach and live in Uganda for a month or so and I was accepted. I purchased my plane ticket and within a few months I was on a plane by myself going to a 3rd-world country where I knew not a soul. When I arrived I was escorted to a small village called Golomolo near Lake Victoria where I lived among 300 orphans in a hut without plumbing or furniture (you get used to it almost immediately). I taught art & science to the children and I fell in love with every single one of them. The emotions I experienced I can not describe in depth enough for people to understand what a beautiful experience it was, I have never cried so much in my life, and leaving was the hardest thing I ever had to accept. I write this today because I woke up today thinking about my time there and I started to tear, I really miss the connection to humanity I felt while I was in Africa.
My Time in Uganda at Gossace Orphanage 2010: Dirty all the time & loving it!
Honestly, my first few nights in Uganda I cried almost every night. I felt guilty for taking advantage of so many things I had back home and how easy life was for me. I wanted to give every child that same life and so many times I wished to trade places. But the thing was, these children were as happy as could be! Happier than any kid I’ve ever seen in the States and then I thought “why would I want to take that away?” That is the beauty of culture. I admit, when I returned home I tried to work on some paintings I started in Africa but I got too emotional while trying to finish them so I have about 4 canvases that are not done and I wonder sometimes if maybe they are as complete as they will ever get. People ask me if I’d ever go back again and I reply, “If I could I’d be on a plane there right now to stay.”
My Time In Uganda 2010 : Unfinished/finished? Art, Getting Around, Teaching
If you’d like to see more pictures of this life-changing journey I’ve got more on Flickr
On rainy days, my favorite thing to do besides pucker up & get kisses from my honey, is to put on some of my favorite tunes and just doodle. I never know what will come out of it when I start, but somehow my brain will focus on a certain verse or line in a song and it will entitle my pen to just make that lyric come to life, and by life I mean become a physical vision. Music is pretty much my lifelong friend, the truth behind all of my honesty & my inspiration for every step I take in life. So before this turns into a shitty Live Journal entry let me stop now and just post what the heck I’m blabbing about! These are from 2009. Pen and Marker over images manipulated in Photoshop.
Tomatoes & Radio Wire Illustration to Neutral Milk Hotel: Two-Headed Boy "Two-headed boy There's no reason to grieve, the world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves, left beneath Christmas trees in the snow"Sunken Treasure Illustration to Wilco: Sunken Treasure "But there is no sunken treasure, rumored to be. Wrapped inside my ribs in a sea black with ink."Lovecraft in Brooklyn Illustration to Mountain Goats: Lovecraft In Brooklyn ""Someday somethings coming, From way out beyond the stars, To kill us while we stand here, It will store our brains in mason jars."
