Where Monsters come from....

        Hello friends.  I am slowly getting the new illustration done.  It is for a story called "Blood on the Wall's" by Dave Rex for Darc Karnivale.  The story takes place at the Waverly Tuberculosis hospital in Kentucky.   For those of you that watch shows like "Ghost Hunters" and "Ghost Adventures" you will recognize it.  Once the hospital is painted, I will show it to you again.  There will be a 3rd element, a ghost and the model will be my friend Suzi Lorraine. I will show you some more Tuesday night.

       This last week has been pretty rough on me. I've really been pushing myself, and I paid for it Friday. I fell out.   Between exhaustion and a flair up of Ulcertive Colitis, my body just couldn't take it anymore.  It's gonna take a few days of rest before I can get back to laying carpet, and even then I am going to have to take it easier or find a new job.  

       Cheryl, Me and the kids (Andrea and Luke) had a great weekend.  We went to see that movie "A night at the museum 2"  It was actually pretty good. I liked it better than the first one. I know all my horror friends out there would have pins stuck in their eyes than sit through a movie like this, but the kids wanted to see it. Sooooo.  Next week, Cheryl and me are going to see Star Trek.

       I get asked a lot about where I come up with idea's for monsters and such, and the answer is simple.  The world around me.  Whenever I watch the news I see monsters and demons, and on occasion, an angel.  But the monsters seem to rule these days. 

      I was raised by a monster.  A man that always put my mother and me down. Told us how stupid we where, and off course the occasional beatings.  He never could handle that I was born with an IQ of 164, and his had to be around 90 or so. At 10 years old, I was beating him at chess.  So I paid for being a genius by being constantly abused by him.  No one back then could understand why I had constant nightmares.

      As I got older and went out into the world, I saw horrible things or heard about them. Like children being abused or murdered so they couldn't tell anyone about the sexual abuse that adults would put them through.  I saw terrorist kill for no reason (watching those people jump from the World Trade Centers changed me forever), I saw wars over the stupidest things like who's religion is right.  It seems that man still wants to show that his balls are bigger than someone  Else's, and they will kill each other to prove the point.

     I have seen people tortured because of the color of their skin, their beliefs, or sexuality. I have seen people who call themselves your friend, and stab you in the back the first time they think they can take what you have. So yes, everyday, I see monsters and demons.  It's not that hard to draw them. I just look at their souls and the images come to me.

     But ever so often, I meet an Angel, and they give me hope.  Ever so little, but hope just the same.  But the truth is, the world has become a very dark place.  The very people who tell us that they are trying to help us are usually the cause.  If only the world could be the way John Lennon sang about it in his song "Imagine"  He was a brilliant artist and saw things for what they truly where and still are., only to be shot down by a jealous madman in front of his home.

      So as long as the world is the way it is, I will still see monsters and demons.  If there is a God, then this is the gift he gave to me.  If there is no God, then life turned me into what I am.  "When fighting Monsters, be careful not to become one"  This is something Daniel said to me a couple of years ago and I know there was a reason for it.  After all, he is one of the Angels of the world.

      I'm not saying that my views are the right ones, not by a long shot.  We are where born with a different point of view, and each of us are entitled to our opinion.  So, these are my thoughts and I just wanted to share them, right or wrong.  I would love to hear yours.

     On another note, my friend Mark Helwig's mother passed this weekend. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.  Thank you all for stopping by, and please stop by anytime. May you find peace and love.