Eagle Scouts and Blue & Gold

The Blue and Gold banquet was great. The spegetti was cooked and with several varieties of various preperation methods I was pleased. I did the usual technique of getting a few plates for the smaller kids and spitting it up between them. They don't always like this but I end up with more food myself.

As for the painting, I wanted a little something to show off and do a little advertisement. I think it ended up being pretty cool.

While working on it, I did some thinking about the scouting program. The cub scout begins his journey working with others and learning to work as a team. He learns his oath of helping a pack to go and the pack will help him to grow. Most all the activities involve participation in a group setting, with family or in the 'pack'.  Once the boy becomes old enogh for Boy Scouts he begins a new process of working to lead others more than be lead. He is given opportunities to be soley responsible for different things. The scout is given leadership roles and tries on the task of leading others to accomplish the goals of scouting. While the cub scout learns to be part of a group just like the wolf cub learns to play, hunt and live in a pack; the boy scout begins to learn to lead and work alone to accomplish goals just as the eagle flies alone. The skills from working in goups as the boy scout maintains an interpersonal relationship with those he works with and the boy becomes a man through hard work and his efforts to excell.

The painting was a fun idea. I wanted to have the flag for the back ground as it is very important to scouting (each country in which the boy does scouting will learn a responsibility to be a productive member of his society), the scouting emblem is full of symbolism. The eagle that normally is a symbol on the scout emblem was taken off for this piece and painted realistic to show the power and magesty of that symbol.

Finally done with Zebra

I have been working on this one for way too long and the last things I needed to get done on it where the flashes from some cameras. I am still not sure if I like them, I may revisit the painting and change them as I think they may look too much like stars but what can a guy do.

I have been super busy with another project and I will be posting it soon too. It has been very nice to be working so much on art. between the military project and the other painting I started and will finish in just under two weeks, this is great. I didn't get a lot of time to work on the painting because it is not military related so I didn't get to do much during the day time. I love this paint stuff.

The battalion paintings

I have fourteen other drawings at various stages of sketching that are all in this series. This is my Key Leaders painting. It is the most complete as I work the several different drawings up to this point getting a feel for where the emphasis will be and by extension will determine the amount of high detail, intense color and majority of value contrast will be placed.

This is not a new process to me but one that I have not done on this scale of this many paintings all at once for a very long time. The last time I did this amount of art may have been my senior year of college when I was taking 23 credits each semester and all were art classes. I was looking to be activated with the Air Force at the time and I wanted to get the degree completed with fears that it would be a very long time before I got actually completed with it if I waited. That was a busy time, and now I am remembering the idea that every spare minute must be put to the paintings.

I get to feel again like the juggler on stage with all the spinning plates and try to run around to all the plates and keep them spinning on their respective pole they are on. It is a wonderful feeling to be working so much on something I love to do but it is almost like a new activity and the job has some getting use to that I was not doing before now. I am learning about myself and trying to multi-task with inspirational podcas'ts, fun music, and some language learning. There are a lot of distractions that get in the way like military activities that have to be done, maintaining physical fitness, family needs with a herd of kids always take time, and then just the idea that I haven't done this much art in a long time so getting use to sitting down at a desk for hours is exciting.

I hope to get moving to the next phase of preparing the boards for paint and then PAINTING! Just got to get the needed supplies... I have no idea how to get the army supply system to work for such normally not thought of as military supplies.

Did I just hear my name?

I have a friend that I thought I knew a little about but I am thinking now we might be more of just associates. He is a great guy and I learned more about how great he is a person. I took advantage of some networking I thought I could do and I encouraged someone I admire to interview him. It took a couple of tries with Dr Paul to get him on the show but he did get on the show:

http://www.liveonpurposeradio.com/radio/2012/02/13/illustrating-success/

It is a great interview. I will have to admit I got a little laugh at hearing my name on the podcast, but the real fun was simply learning more about the man Will Terry. An even more admirable individual now.

 I have enjoyed listening to Dr Paul cause he has some people on the show that have gone through what I think to be more than I would ever want to go through and have all found their success as they have shared what they are passionate about and shared it with the world. They are inspiring me to find my passion and share it with the world. I don't know exactly how to do this but it is an exciting adventure to find how how I can share what I love to do with those that love what I can do.

I wanted to thank Dr Paul for sharing those great people he knows and also Will Terry for all the time he takes to share what he loves with all of us that love it! What a great reminder for me to get busy with what I love!

I should add that I borrowed this picture of Will from his sisters blog, I want to give credit where credit is due: http://myplasticfreelife.com/2010/12/letter-from-will-terry-a-normal-guy-and-not-some-tree-hugging-freak/

Gabriel Iglesias... the fluffy?

This was a pretty cool little situation. After finishing painting the walls I was given the suggestion of maybe having the super stars that come to Kuwait, and Camp Buehring sign them. I chose the final wall for the Stars to sign. The walls were a bit of a timeline and this one was the final wall and sort of representing today.

It was really neat to meet Gabriel Iglesias and the other comics he brought with him. I have seen their faces on different advertisements in department stores as I walk by the media section but to see them in real life is always a treat.

Gabriel and his troup were the second group of celebrities to have signed the wall, there was a first group...

Funny story with the first group that signed the wall. There was another volunteer at the USO at the time that was a little star struck with the idea of any celebrities coming at all and to be so close, I think she lost her head a little. She was almost hanging on the first group to come through, Daughtry. The band members even made a complaint or it may have just been the looks they made when she was around them that was noticed by the USO staff members but all the volunteers were asked to try and stay back a little for the next meet and great (there were a couple different ones to accommodate all the different soldiers wanting to meet them). During the second meet and greet for the photo shoot, we were going to ask the group to sign the wall, they were going to be the first. I was really excited due to the fact that both my wife and I knew who Daughtry were and we had seen American Idol to sort of see some background on one of the band members. I was going to get my photo with the group right after they signed the wall as a bit of a memorabilia and everything was going smoothly till the before mentioned volunteer threw herself into the group just as they were finishing signing the wall making a big groupie, flirty, teeny-bopper type attitude .... steeling my chance to take a picture. The staff were very embarrassed, I was a little disappointed and now best of all, I have a great sob story to tell. It wasn't really that big of a deal and I still have this great photo with Gabriel.

I wonder who else has signed the wall... Has the tradition continued... What is happening to the 'walls of Camp Buehring'?

My place of duty...

I can't tell you how wonderful it has been to be working here. Right here. I know it is sort of a mess and I need to clean up a bit but the idea that after I get done with PT in the morning and right after first formation I come to this desk right here and draw. I will be painting here soon enough. I still don't have the supplies. I need to get my final list of what I need and have the unit make the purchase. I have been itching to get started but what littlel patience I have has been on my side as I work to do this the right way. I am not positive what the future will hold for me but I know that this is a great situation I am in right now.