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Category Archives: Everyday Objects

Rose Hips

21-Sep-07

Sorry for the delay in posting. I got tied up in regular life for a bit. Now to resume the travel sketches from Maine…

Everywhere we went in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park there seemed to be these shrubs with little red thingys on them. I would say they look like itty-bitty tomatoes.

My dear wife enlightened me. They were Rose Hips.

“Why do they call them hips dear?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they look like hips.”
“Good answer dear. I have no idea what you mean by that.”
“Me neither.”

That was the limited discussion we had on the matter. Even so, I was somehow captivated by the little stinkers and decided to sketch them. These were at Thunder Hole, which is a place on the rocky coast where the waves crash into a large pocket in the rocks and create, well, a thunderous noise…I suppose. The tide was out and no thunder was being produced.

Even so, it seemed a place where shrubs of any type might not have an easy life.

With no thunder in the making, I began to observe the effort undertaken by the Park Service to produce the long concrete stairway, worked right into the rocky landscape, right down to the hole itself, complete with a nice viewing deck.

One would no doubt get drenched standing on that deck when thunder production is taking place.

The stairway had a very nice stainless steel railing all the way around it. Very expensive and not the first one, as sawn off rusty nubs of steel posts sat grouted in the rocks beside the existing railing. Evidence of previously failed design and installation.

I admired the effort because with the harsh environment of the salt water and air, even the stainless steel railing suffers from rust and broken welds. In other words, the whole thing was a real design challenge in the first place and remains a maintenance challenge even with the use of stainless steel. But the Park Service thought we citizens would enjoy the ability to get right down on top of such a natural experience and took up the challenge. A fine job they did and still do. You and I would not otherwise be able to safely view and experience first hand “the thunder”. It’s a good thing…and educational thing…and enlightening thing, to get that close to harsh, secret places in nature.

I suppose I should have sketched the stairway, considering all the effort that went into its creation.

But the Rose Hips…they set footing there at Thunder Hole without the aide of the Park Service. They were alive and stable in the same tough environment that the stainless steel was having trouble with. I wished to myself, as I studied them up close along the stair walk, that I was as tough as them. And yet still somehow able to be…rosy.

So I sketched them.

Also filed in National Parks, Nature, Stories, Travel Sketches | | Comments (12) »

Johnny Rockets

18-Aug-07

We visited Johnny Rockets today for a lunch burger.

We were seated in a two person booth. These are itty-bitty booths. Once seated, there is room for a burger a drink and your elbows. Not much else. That is because of the assorted paraphernalia which joins you for your meal.

There is a nickel jukebox on each table which takes up a fair chunk of space. I started pumping nickels into it and choosing songs, my wife anxiously looking for nickels of her own so she could start pumping them in as well.

When our waitress finally showed up, we were informed that the “jukeboxes were out”. Not being entirely well versed in “waitress-ese”, I took that to mean they didn’t work. She confirmed my assumption and made no offer to reimburse my twenty-five cent contribution to their establishment.

Of course music was playing in the place, loudly, and oddly the same tunes listed in the jukebox as available for a nickel.

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. No signs stating the jukeboxes didn’t work. I lost twenty-five cents before they passed along the little tidbit of information and finally, by chance I reckon, I heard one of the songs I had selected.

Oh well. Live and learn eh? At the end of the day they probably empty the jukes and split the money. Or could be I’m the only boob in years that has ever put a nickel in the dang things anyway.

Along with the nickel stealer on the table were the ketchup and mustard bottles, a napkin holder, little stems with ads at the top plugging their most expensive burgers and milkshakes. Plus a little black thingy holding packets of those cancer causing sweeteners we all use. And a vase with red carnations…which was nice.

As we sat there, cramped and very close to all our table wear, I sketched the jukebox and a salt shaker. They were the only things far enough away for me to keep in focus.

Then the lights dimmed, a disco ball in the ceiling lit up and started slowly spinning, and all the staff marched into a line right beside us and started dancing to the BeeGees song which was just starting to play…even louder than normal. I stopped sketching and ate my french fries…the traditional appetizer of Johnny Rockets…as the Travolta wannabe’s strutted their stuff so close to me I could feel the swishes of air pass my face with every move.

The burger was excellent as usual but each time I eat at Johnny Rockets, I swear I shall not return. It’s the noise level and slow service and sneaky jukeboxes and other annoyances, which I forget about between visits. But, once a year or so, while running Saturday errands, I find myself saying to my wife “wanna go to Johnny Rockets?”

Upon exiting into the great outdoors I relished the lower volume of the parking lot and traffic noise. But sweat already forming on my brow, I missed the air conditioning inside the restaurant.

Life is a trade-off.

Also filed in Machines, Passing Time, Quick Sketches, Restaurants and Such, Stories | | Comments (4) »

Happy Living Interupted

05-May-07

You know those little keys you tote all over creation? Have you ever thought about what happens if you lose them?

I never thought about it until I returned from the wedding trip last Sunday.

You see, as the big ol’ jet aerolinah touched down in Atlanta, I realized my keys were in my dear wife’s purse and my dear wife was back in Destin, Florida where I left her to enjoy a few more days of fun and frolic with her friends.

Here is the damage breakdown of that little brain fart:

$77 cab fair from airport to my doorstep.
$149 locksmith fee to come to my home at 10:30pm and drill (not pick mind you) my front door deadbolt. Seems he wasn’t much of a lock picker. But a darn good lock driller.
$59 for a new deadbolt lock for the front door.

And, as Murphy would be remiss not to throw in his two cents worth, turns out the Weiser lock company no longer exists. Qwikset bought them and eliminated their products from their line. No more Weiser locks. Since my front door lockset was a Weiser, my front door is now the only entry door in the house with a different key. Thank you Mr. Murphy. I needed another key for the key ring.

So dear friends, take it from an experienced source…

As you concern yourselves with the catastrophes that would occur should your hard drive crash, consider also the pain in the rear that would result should you lose your keys…and of course the resulting costs.

As with your hard drive, back them up.

For me, that means duplicating each key, putting them on a ring, and burying them in the back yard (in a waterproof container). And of course, leaving a small digging utensil handy somewhere outside.

Ahhhhh, I love travel sketching.

Also filed in Stories, Travel Sketches | | Comments (0) »

The Twisted Birch

23-Apr-07

Alright. All you botanical experts out there, riddle me this.

This morning I got myself a cup of coffee and took a walk over at a park not far from home. The trail runs alongside a creek with your typical creekside flora and fauna.

I tend to look all around while walking and I looked up at precisely the right time to see this one and only river birch with a twisted trunk.

At first I thought it was one of those burl thingies, you know, those big ol’ growths on tree trunks that are prized by wood turners for making unusual wooden bowls. But on closer study I realized it was quite literally a twist in the growth of the trunk.

To top it off, it was twenty feet up in the air.

So, my botanical friends, what in the world causes a tree to develop a screw shaped twist in its trunk??

Glad I saw it. It was an interesting thing to see. Plus it gave me an opportunity to list some truly scientific reasons of my own in the sketch.

Also filed in Nature, Quick Sketches, Stories | | Comments (4) »

Test for ADD

21-Apr-07

In an effort of self examination, I today tested myself to see if I had ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

My wife and I attended the weekly “let’s go to IHOP for breakfast” meeting this morning and I took along my sketchbook for the test.

As you can see, I chose to sketch the condiments on the table. That’s the “I Sketch (and nod)” part, delineated at top-left by the arrow.

My wife, Leta, unknowing of my test, did her usual activity on this weekly occasion…she talked. That’s the “Leta talks” part, delineated by the arrow at mid-right and occupying all remaining space on the page.

I listed what she talked about whilst sketching the condiments. Thus confirming that I indeed do NOT have ADD.

If you throw in my ability to nod my head during these these two divergent, yet simultaneous activities, then certainly I would also have to be considered a Bona fied multi-tasker. Something heretofore only credited to the female gender.

This is of great relief to me since my dear wife is convinced I have ADD and can not walk and chew gum at the same time.

Next on the scientific agenda is a test to disprove the theory that I am only able to hear that which I desire to hear.

Also filed in Quick Sketches, Restaurants and Such, Sketching and Drawing, Stories | | Comments (4) »

ACEO “The Pear”

11-Apr-07

I thought I would paint a few ACEO cards for auction at eBay.

Once again, the kitchen called my name (7-10 times a day in case you’re curious) and I found this pear sitting over in the fruit basket.

I haven’t done a lot of still lifes but this one was fun. I kept it loose and simple with a graphite sketch and then watercolor over that.

Just so you know, this is an “ACEO” which stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”. They are typically tiny little paintings of just 2.5″ x 3.5″, baseball card size. The neat thing is they most often are original paintings. Such is the case with any that I do at least.

I leave an additional white border around mine so they can be easily framed. These little paintings look really nice all framed up and placed on a desk or on the wall. And of course they can be collected, which was the original intent of “ACEO” in the first place.

So, if you think you just can’t live without it, head on over to eBay by following this link and bid on it.

I’ll paint a few more over the next few weeks. The notion to paint them tends to hit me in spurts and I’m liable to paint just about anything (as usual). So watch for them if you like them.

You can see others I’ve done by clicking the “ACEO Art Cards” category over in the right sidebar category tree.

Also filed in ACEO Art Cards, Foods, Quick Sketches, Sketching and Drawing | | Comments (2) »

The Quandry of the Nekked Woman

08-Apr-07

I can only assume each of us has “internal struggles” (Lord I hope so…I’d hate to find out I’m the only fool with internal struggles).

Some days I wake up with the internal struggle of just finding something to be interested in.

I look and look…and think…I think sooooo hard…about something to be interested in.

Most often, I’m looking to get interested in something to draw for this blog and for raising my own level of enjoyment for the day.

Now, being a 100% straight shooting Southern American male, I could easily raise my own level of enjoyment by drawing “nekked” women (in a tasteful and artistic way of course…ahem). And while I could likely do so and have the fine folk reading this blog believe that it was done within the higher level, intellectual realm of “artistic thinking”, I would not be fooling my wife.

You see, she knows I am not capable of entering the higher level, intellectual realm of artistic thinking when looking at a “nekked” woman. She’s smart like that.

So on Saturday, in a small town in the North Georgia mountains, while she took her time looking around in the Dollar General store, I sat in the car, internally struggling about what interesting thing to draw.

I became interested in this power pole.

Sad isn’t it?

“Nekked women or power poles? Which shall I draw? Hmmmm…better draw the power pole I guess.”

And so I did.

One of these days though, I’m comin’ out of my artistic closet and drawing a nekked woman. If anyone would be so kind as to pay me say $20 to draw a nekked woman for them, I’m sure that would make it OK by my wife. (I can refund the $20 later)

Also filed in Passing Time, Sketching and Drawing, Stories | | Comments (2) »