Random Pictures & Observations

When one is out in the world running around a doing errands, it is sometimes difficult to stop and appreciate the everyday, mundane, even functional beauty that surrounds us. I was out not long after our snow storms getting much needed new tires for my SUV and was thus stuck in a tire showroom (couldn’t pack myself into the tiny, crowded waiting room) for a couple of hours waiting for my installation. I was pondering over things I wanted to add to this blog, but would from time to time take a break and just look around. As I stood looking down a line of various brands and styles of tires, I noticed how artful and varied the treads were. Obviously the tires were not made to be pieces of art, but there is visual appeal in the way the patterns are laid out. I wondered if a tire was ever sold just based on its tread-appeal.

Here’s a shot of the line of tires:

 

More along the lines of a sculpture was the display of rims which were in the showroom. The salesman was all ready to sell me some new bling for my ride when I took this shot, but I assured him that I was simply admiring the wheel presentation.

 

 The alignment machine was broken on the evening I got my new tires so I had to go over the weekend to have that handled. Luckily there was a Burger King within walking distance, so I headed over there to read & have a little breakfast. While I pondered over “How to Write a Movie in 21 Days” I noticed the art which decorated the restaurant. Below is the one which was closest to me.

I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t exactly feed my soul.

I’ve been dabbling a little bit over the last few weeks with smaller canvasses and I’ve been relatively pleased with the results:

Field of Red

It was very fun to apply different techniques to a variety of reds.

Draggin’ the Lines

I couldn’t wait for each layer of color to dry before adding the next one.

Hissy Fit

This started out being a beach scene until someone got frustrated and mixed pink and black paint over most of it. I’ve just been adding color over top for the heck of it. We will most likely paint over it and try again. I’m thinking that it’s morphed into more of a deep sea theme at this point.

Drag Queen

I played with this painting most of the afternoon on Sunday (in between loads of laundry and trying to watch “He’s Just Not That Into You”). Again, it was really difficult to wait for each layer to dry, plus I was loading up the brush for a more 3-D effect so it took even longer to dry.

Pollack’n Out

This one was still wet when I shot it so it’s a little shiny. I painted over a geometrical thing I thought would look good and just didn’t. I think it needs more yellow. I’ll add some tomorrow.

I was thinking tonight while I was making dinner – there are certain words in our language that I feel should only be used with the word not or un in front of them. The two that came to mind while I was thinking about it were: Deserve & Classy.

I don’t think anyone Deserves anything. Nothing is deserved. There are things which are undeserved – People do not deserve to be abused or mistreated. To be treated with disrespect is undeserved. Whenever I hear someone talk about something they deserve I do a little mental head shake and think that what we get should be earned, not expected simply because we exist and happen to live in the most powerful nation in the world.

As far as classy goes, I never meet a well-heeled, mannerly, refined person and think of them as classy. Whenever I do think of that word, it’s always in conjunction with the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when the cousins are ooooing and ahhhing over the horrid bridesmaid’s gowns. Thankfully I rarely hear that word which is more an echo of 80’s personals ads than something which is used commonly today. Unclassy on the hand is something I observe much more frequently and try to avoid perpetrating myself!

Thanks for tuning in!