I have just come back from Phoenix. I have been golfing and enjoying excellent weather. For those of you live in far off places you won't know that Calgary has had a very good winter thus far. When I left it was unseasonably warm. When I got back yesterday someone hit the "normal" switch and the weather is now horribly cold and back to normal. I hate winter more and more and it more and more makes me want to move somewhere far far away. I will let you all know that I have no paintings left in my house as I am currently burning them all to keep warm.
I want to talk more about writing and painting this year. God knows you all have seen far to much about my personal life in this blog, the point of this was to talk art - it seems like the right time. It never ceases to amaze me how many people in the world are writers who have never published or never finished their beloved work. Myself I have finished 3 books and never bothered to try to sell one. When I was in Phoenix golfing and gambling we had the occasion of celebrating a friends 50th birthday. His wish was to visit a gentleman's club. It's honestly not the type of place I frequent (twice in my life) but as it was his birthday off we went. The club itself was rough around the edges as these places are, but unlike the places I had been to in the past, there was a much higher percentage of attractive girls wandering around talking with the customers.
I will spare you the details for the most part, but I ended up talking with one of the girls for a very long time about her writing. We talked about what she wanted to do in the future, and I talked about my artwork and writing. Then I recommended some books she could read. I don't feel particularly comfortable in this type of place, but I am at a point in my life where I will talk to anyone with ease. What I have have found is that people always have things they want to accomplish, and it is a common point we all like to share our thoughts about. Not only was she a writer, but she was also a very good dancer. She had to leave our conversation to go and do her routine on stage, and for those of you who are prudish she didn't take off all of her clothes, just some of them, and we were all impressed by her beauty, but also she was a great dancer. We all have talents, and we all have a way we would like to move forward in our lives.
When she came back later on in the evening, I told her how good a dancer she was compared with the others. She said she enjoyed the dancing, and had always done it in one form or the other. She was sure of herself and made it known that it was her choice to be there. She made more money doing that than working a normal day job, so she could travel and do what she wanted to. If I wasn't so damn ugly I would do the same thing. The amount of time I spend "working" is what affects the real work I would like to do in my life. It's not that I don't like the work I do now because actually I truly do. I just don't have as much time to build my life exactly the way I wanted to, but my new friend, whom I'm sure I will never see again, was working to do just that. She was using work as a means to an end. I hope that works out for her.
How is it that I end up in a place where I should just be a guy, and end up having a deep conversation about life? If this is the way my life is going, I have to say I like it a lot. Why be some typical horny guy when you can find out something about someones life? That's what writing is about. I have often written characters who are prostitutes by choice (Let's get this straight my new friend IS NOT a prostitute - she was a dancer) but I have always thought there were people who found that life and been successful. People who made the choice to do those types of things for a living because they actually liked it. I know there is a seedier side which even she admitted to, but it hadn't affected her. She told me she liked what she did, and I believed her. She also told me it wasn't going to define her. She had a plan and a good head on her shoulders. I guess I was just fascinated.
I plan on asking more people for their stories. I suppose I should also ask them if they mind if I posted snippets for us all to learn. I think it's good to learn from other people. What better to way figure out what works and what doesn't? There is no magic method that works for everyone, but if you can get some tips along the way it may help.
So lets end on a tip from me to you: If you do live in a cold climate I suggest you remove the canvas before you burn the painting to stay warm. That way you still have the painting, and more importantly you won't suffocate from the fumes. Who knew acrylic paint burning would hurt so bad? It's still better than being cold. See - you learned something from me just by reading this.
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