Focus. Stay on Target.

Hey there Sports Fans, Al here with the latest:

What is a creative issue that prevents work from being done?

Fear is usually the first one that comes to mind. Real or imagined can cripple the creative spark within all of us.

Misdirection is another. This one is tricky because real life doesn't always run parallel with the creative flow. In fact, sometimes I have found myself falling into this problem because you don't want something to end other times you fall for ... wait for it...

lack of enthusiasm for a project.

I think that this happens all the time to creative people. Probably the best well-known person is Geroge R.R. Martin and the "Game of Thrones" books. It has been shown that he has been busy writing other stories and scripts for tv and buying a ton of stuff that most nerdy collectors would kill for. But he can't bring himself to finish the books. But down deep in the heart of the creative when you are bored of working on a project. Like you would be working at a restaurant in the dish pit and you are doing the same job over and over again your body just goes through the motions and your mind shuts down. It's like that returning to any art project.

HOWEVER, there are times when a renewed vigor comes in like a long-awaited tide to cover the rough edges that you had so many issues with, and then you are left with a self-question "why did I stop doing this?"

What has this to do with anything? Well, funny you should ask the metaphorical question. In my case when I was cranking out a bunch of Richard Parker stuff before the Pandemic lockdown I had a major hard-on for getting my Robot Monster story completed and written and drawn. At the time I wanted to prove to myself that I still could make a regular comic book that I would be into as a kid. And when the lockdown happened I had remarked to my girlfriend at the time, "Well at least now I can finish Robot Monster."

But what of Parker? He rolled out to sea like the morning tide. But with so many things in life like the lockdown, the civil unrest, the break-up from a long relationship, a move, a wildfire threat, rehired, move again, "Last Monster on Earth!" finished and sent off to my editor, and the recent election Parker rolled back in.

And as I had mentioned before - FOCUS.

A large explosion of creativity burst forth - where do I need to fill in the visual gaps to make sense to the reader? If I were picking this up for the first time would it make sense? I will admit that sometimes the burden to see things through is tough because you do sit down at an art table day after day using the same techniques to flesh out a character or general idea. But focus to sit down just to start is a good beginning. And unlike those dishes being stacked there is an end to the story.

Focus.

On the Air....?

Hey there Sports Fans, Al here with the latest:

Podcasting?

Say what?

That is an endeavor that I am looking into these days. After looking and more likely listening to over the last five months that I was out of work I began to feel disconnected. But as sat I heard a number of people, of everyday commentators who were watching and seeing how the cultural landscape was changing. They felt the same as I did about what was changing.

And it was not for the better.

Pop-Culture has been under attack from many outside forces and internal as well. Now you may have noticed over the years that I had been working towards getting into the comic-book industry for years with not a lot of success. But I still love the medium and still write and draw comic after comic. But money always seems to play the key factor if you are successful. In short, I was not. As a close friend of mine said (to paraphrase) "How much do you make off a comic-book? And then how much do make a single image?" It's apples to oranges my friends and not a single image not selling or being shown = no cash flow.

Along with the free time I had if I wasn't fearful of Wildfires sweeping in and purify the land of all my work and living, the harmful effects of smog town USA, or the massive civil unrest that lurks just beneath the surface ready to explode all magnified by a worldwide pandemic. I had no job and some time on my hands. But the idea of social commentary struck me as "That topic is funny as hell!" Social life has thrown a helluva a curve and not much social interaction going at work or outside of the fear factor of meeting that walking vector point I need to express. Why is this happening? WHY are people being stupid in their writing?

I know myself to be sarcastic and even sardonic at times depending on the topic being spoken about. My ex used to say to me "Why do you laugh at everything?" My response was "Because everything is funny." If I didn't laugh at the hairless chimps I would have already gone mad and be left out on the streets like so many homeless that I have walk past to get to work.

The polarization of modern society is stupid. Using a social platform to cancel people with impunity is stupid. Subverting expectations is stupid. Racism is stupid. Sexism is stupid. Mass media is stupid. Basically, the world in of itself is stupid.

AND how would end all of these social topics on the air? A tag line. Again I refer back to my ex and what she would say to me “Whatever the topic, whatever scene dear listener, it always comes back to trek.” And that does really cover it.