Soldaddy

It's a new year, and I'm focused more than ever on bringing the project ideas in my head into fruition. Project 1: a relatively large oil painting with special attention on background detail as well as foreground. Project 2: next year's Halloween costume -- Gargoyle with operational wings. I've made a commitment to making it happen.

I'm feeling so lazy lately. I've collected a bunch of ideas, and I have a bunch of canvases ready, but I just haven't managed to get the paint out. I need all of your help to keep me going!

There's this alley behind where I work. It's not the best neighborhood, but that's because of the people, not because of the architecture. There's not much in the way of conspicuous beauty in this alley. On the surface, quite the opposite. Trash cans, fire escapes, pot holes. But there's this one section of complex colors, lines and patterns created by the combination of the varied dimensions of the back of the building, along with the angles of the fire escape. The bricks themselves offer a sort of grid against which all the variations converge. Add to that the different colors of bricks -- some bare brick, some painted and peeling. And ther