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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” – Maya Angelou
A storyteller must tell her stories. Keeping them inside not only wears on your psyche, it also keeps them from enlightening others who might enjoy them.
But telling them can be hard, sometimes, and the process of sharing stories can be interrupted by life events.
I have often told my story as an animal loving artist through the eyes of my cats. Brewskie Butt was my greatest storyteller. An affable character with a humorous personality, he gallantly cruised across the interwebs in the early days of social media, making friends around the world, and sharing his enthusiasm about my artwork. He shared his adventures stirring up trouble with my other cats, and he told the story of the emerging Canton Arts District from his window perch above my art studio.
The Brew left for the Rainbow Bridge in 2017, and I was heartbroken. The storytelling from his perspective stopped, because…well, it just hurt too much.
Over the past few months, 3 of his feline comrades (Noah, Okey and Who) have also joined Brewskie at the Rainbow Bridge, and the pain of loss has become unbearable for me. All of their stories coming to a close around the same time has left me emotionally raw. I miss each and everyone of them, and my heart aches with knowing that we won’t be making any new stories together.
But, there are still stories to tell, and as Maya Angelou said, they have to be told.
I know a lot of writers who have elevated their pets’ personas in social media, and they too have struggled with how to move forward when those pets have passed on. I also have known of artists who have continued the legacy of their pets through iconic imagery. (George Rodrique’s Blue Dog, James Dean’s “Pete the Cat”). Others have moved into other realms of story telling beyond the stories related to their pets.
As I struggle through the real life grief process for my most recent losses, I am challenging myself to re-energize my story telling through my art and my words. I honestly don’t know how this will go, and it may fall flat, but I have to try. The stories may relate to current or past pets, and they may go into other directions. I am just going to play it by ear.
I am not one for wearing my heart on my sleeve, and I am not really comfortable with sharing my pain openly. But story telling through images – that is something I can do. And I need to get to a place where I can do that again. So here goes.
For an artistic challenge, I am making a series of drawings throughout the month of January, each telling a story, or capturing a moment that has been part of my story. Some of the stories may be actual stories from the past that I am reflecting back upon. Some may be current tales, seen either through the eyes of my current feline family or through my own perspective. And some may be fanciful and imagined stories of grand adventures.
I am calling this my “So Many Stories to Tell” Art Challenge.
Each drawing will be placed for auction on here on my blog. You can follow each day’s drawing by by subscribing to my my blog or by following my posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Minimum bids will be low – you just might get a great artwork for a bargain!
Thanks for following along all month and for bidding on the drawings!
By the way, let me know what you would like to see me draw the rest of the month in the comments below. I am open to suggestions!
Today’s story is a simple drawing of the irrepressible Brewskie Butt. You may have followed him down many silly adventures on Twitter and on his blog in his glory days. At one time, he went on an international tour and cavorted with kangaroos, toucans and panda bears. What you probably saw less of was the sweet, loving character who kept me company for many years as I developed my career as an artist. So today, I wanted to share that story, which has not fully been told.
Here’s the info about the drawing if you’d like to make a bid:
5″ x 7″ Prismacolor Pencil Drawing by artist BZTAT
Comes with a matt ready for a 8X10″ frame.
Leave bids in increments of $5 below in the comments section.
Minimum Bid $20 USD
Shipping: $5 USA $15 International
BUY NOW OPTION: You can buy this piece now for $35 as long as no bids have been made in the comments below. Simply write BUY NOW in the comments and I will send you an invoice via Paypal which can be paid with a credit card or with PayPal.
Highest bid at 10:00 pm EST on Wednesday, 1/8/2020 wins the piece.
Winning bidder: I will send an invoice via Paypal to the winning bidder which can be paid with a credit card or with PayPal.
Please allow 2-3 weeks for USA shipping.
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
Brew! One of my first twitter and blog follows. 🙂
Did you want to make a bid? 🙂
This auction is now closed.