Renaissance Man, or, A Faire to Remember

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Jonathan Manning

A couple of weeks ago, the family and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival and had a great time. My wife and I dressed up a bit, the kids went all out, and I got to spend the day experiencing fresh air like a true Scottsman.

This past weekend, while the wife and kids were in Oklahoma visiting the inlaws, I decided to take another trip up to the fair for the Yule celebration. Because I was on the bike (Azula) and also because it was 41F that morning, I did NOT wear my skirt. I bundled up nicely and even so, I was cold enough that I’m sure I could have been a glass cutter.

Me and Azula at the fair motorcycle parking lot

I fought procrastination the whole morning. I bought the ticket online the night before and all morning long I regretted it. I kept trying to convince myself that I shouldn’t have spent the money, that it was a long ways to go in the cold on a motorcycle, that it wouldn’t be as much fun by myself.

I couldn’t have been more wrong about any of it. I had a lovely time walking around, looking at the sites, meeting and talking with so many beautiful people, and eating some really good foods. It was a wonderful opportunity to fuel my creativity tank.

Link to all the photos I took at the fair that turned out good. — I created a page to upload all of the pics I took that turned out good

The link above has all the photos that turned out good, and the link below will take you the youtube for the video: https://youtu.be/PFl-V3zS_j0

Chicken Adventure

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Jonathan Manning

Recently I read a study about how humans mark time. Why Christmas seems so far away to kids, but New Years was just a few days ago to adults. It boils down to “core memories”. When you’re a kid, there are tons of FIRST TIME events. The first time you saw a duck was an exciting time for you. You may not remember the exact date, but it was a first. It was likely followed immediately by another first of being chased by a goose. Or the first time you kissed a girl. Or the first time you drove a car… There are a lot of firsts for kids. All of those firsts make the marking of a year seem like a very long time. As an adult, you’ve likely seen lots of waterfowl, driven lots of cars, and kissed plenty of girls. As the novelty wears off, so too do the making of memory anchors to mark time. One day you remember sitting at the table helping your son with his homework, and the next day, he has a whole little family of his own. And that time flies for everyone.

To combat that, you have to have new adventures. You have to try new things and make new memories. You can do this in a lot of major or subtle ways. Try a new restaurant. Go to a new festival in a new town. Even something as simple as changing up your seating arrangements at home. All of these things create distinct anchors. The more anchors you have, the longer it seems for time to pass. Or, maybe it just feels like you’re living your life on purpose instead of it just being something that happens.

A few weeks ago, I started having new adventures every Saturday. We’ve been at it for a month now. First, we went to the zoo. The next week, I had a volunteer weekend at work. Then Girl2 and I went to a two story bookstore and saw a movie in a different theater. Week before last, we went to a ceramic Clay Festival in Gruene, TX. And this weekend I went to a rescue farm to sketch chickens

I took my sketches and used them as a reference for this little sketch I managed to knock out during a break at work.

And I did a color study for a larger painting. There’s a video of that over on the YouTube: https://youtu.be/6qWQxZ9UFtw

The Creator’s Spark – An Introduction

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Jonathan Manning

Pablo Picasso said, everybody’s born an artist, and the trick is to remain an artist as you become an adult. That is to say that everybody is born creative, that creativity is inherent in the human experience. Everybody has a creative spark.

Most either believe that we were created by an Almighty Creator, or that we evolved from a single-celled organism and grew into multi-species, and all the various life forms. If created, then The Creator used His creative spark to create us, and thereby imbued us also with a dose of creativity. If we evolved from the energy of the universe, then the only thing that sets us apart from the other animals is our creativity.

Creativity is simply the ability to imagine something, and planning ways to deal with it.

While the source of creativity can be argued until the end of time, it’s purpose is evident. To ensure our survival. We are not the strongest species. We have no claws, sharp teeth, or even thick skin. We only have our collective wits to set us apart and that appears to have been enough. We could not only imagine ways we could have been in danger, but also ways to avoid it, to prevent it, and to use an attack to our advantage in catching prey. Our creativity allowed us to domesticate helpers and foods. Our creativity allowed us to build on discoveries made by others. Whether you believe our being the apex predator is a good thing or not, it was our creativity that got us here. And it is our creativity that will help us resolve any problems we face, even those we might create. ;)

Can you think of ways creativity has helped or hindered you personally? Do you sometimes doubt your own creativity? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it.

Feeling like a slug!

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Jonathan Manning

Me standing on a block behind my tall daughter in her prom dress — Me and Girl2 on prom night

First, check out Girl2 in her prom dress. This picture was taken on her very last day of high school! She will graduate cum laude, with a cosmetology degree, an associates degree in science and math, and VERY close to completing Eagle Scout. I can’t manage to change my socks daily. This is why, as happy as I am for her and as proud, I feel like a slug.

I had all of these great plans for 2023. I was going to do a fair every month. I was going to complete a large painting every week, a couple of small paintings, and sketch every day.

With the exception of a couple of small watercolors, I haven’t managed to complete a single painting. I have done a small handful of sketches, but nothing near the volume I wanted to do.

So what’s wrong me? Why can’t I manage to follow through? It’s so easy to get down on myself and think about how terrible I am. But doing nothing is the norm. That is the standard that the human body wants to maintain. Inertia. A body at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by a force, right?

So the real question is what happened before that motivated me to do something? How did I manage to get up and do anything before? We typically throw around words like “discipline” and “plan” without really understanding how those words become actions.

I don’t have an answer to that. I know that routine is the best way for me to get things accomplished. If I manage to sit at a drawing table with my pens and paper, I will draw something. So I have to set the routine to have my pens and paper out, maybe at a specific time or at least convenient place every day. Like the saying goes, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” If my space is prepared and my materials available, it’s a whole lot easier for me to actually sit down and get some work done. The current state of the studio is not conducive to that effort, to say the least

I did manage to take some supplies with me to the mall while the wife and kids explored the shops. I didn’t get a whole lot of sketches in, but something is a brazillian times more than nothing, right?

Boy2 enjoying some Chinese food at the food court

What’s on Your Easel?

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Jonathan Manning

Snails, Pinups, and a Spider

What do those things have to do with each other? Nothing really, other than I drew them…

These snails are from a reference provided by Hielmy_arrasyid . Check them out. They’re a great photographer on instagram.

These Pinups are in keeping with the Halloweeny theme! The first one is Stefania Ferrario, then Austin White, Erika of Spacemunkybuns, and Nelsy of Wildkitten10. They are all great models!

I was honestly questioning whether to share the Pin-ups. In a couple of the F-book groups I belong to there have been a handful of people offended by the sexuality. Then a couple of thoughts occured to me… It’s my page, and I’m “The Artistic Biker.” While I know they exist, I think you’ll find bikers who don’t like pinups are in the extreme minority.

And finally, this little watercolor spider is based on a reference provided by Biju PB of AvianDiaries

That’s pretty much a round up of what’s on my easel! I would love to see and share what’s on your easel. Just send an email to Blade at Artistic Biker dot Com with the subject Easel and I’ll use your works to help inspire others. That’s what this is all about.