What you see isn't always what you get

We all know of the common phrase "whatcha see is whatcha get". But most of the time, thats not the truth, especially when it comes to people. Actually, when it comes to a lot of things in this world, what you see is never what you get. An example, fast food...when you go to order it and you're checkin' out the menu, everything looks sooooo good. Then you get your food and it looks like someone sat on it, puked it up, etc etc. What you see, is rarely what you get, which is awful. It's a terrible thing that an image or a persons image is never what you get. It's like icebergs, the worst of everything is underneath the surface, it's hidden and waiting. We always hope and wish that a persons image will really add up to what they truly are behind closed doors, but the ugly truth of it is, no one, I repeat NO ONE, is ever going to turn out how you imagine. Because no one is going to be exactly how you wish or hope they would be. They are only going to be a human being, who is flawed and imperfect. If you can truly see things for what they are, you have a gift. This is the problem in the world; we all put our faith in some idea, image, religion, etc but really we need to be putting our faith in ourselves. There is no one on this earth or in this entire universe who is going to respect you, love you, take care of you, trust you, more than yourself, so quit trying to find that picture perfect significant other. So in order to avoid disappointment, see things, sights, art, life, people, etc for what they truly are....not for what you WANT them to be. Just like this picture, I tried to manipulate it into something better looking, but truth be told I took it on a beautiful summer day and the picture itself is as good as it gets, well maybe not. However for me, it's a beautiful picture and making it into something its not, takes away from it in everyway possible.

P.S. Tonight is my last night of smoking cigarettes, my father and I have made a bet, starting tomorrow morning. First one to smoke a cigarette owes the other one 50 bones. Lets hope neither of us loses. Haha.

There is no such thing as luck...

is it purely coincidence joined with preparation. I say this because I use the phrase "lucky" a lot. I use it when it comes to people telling me things they are doing that I wish I could be doing at the same time, but when I reevaluate what I am saying, I realize they aren't lucky they just happen to be doing what I want because they had the available resources to do so. There is no such thing as LUCK, it is an easy word to dismiss hard work and hard planning. Some people tell me I'm lucky for my talent, but I do see it as luck being the reason I can draw, I see it as talent that I have been interested in since I was about 7 years old.
Speaking of this "luck" thing, last night I did my first blind contour, not really my thing, but I had to try it out for kicks. I tried it out by doing a quick sketch of "Warwick" for the Hallway Show. It did not turn out perfectly as I would like, but hey...does anything? No, which is why I'm quite pleased with it, but then again I am always pleased with the art I produce, because it is from my own original mind, and no one can touch that.

Choosing to see the beauty of things

I have a very different philosophy on life than most people, I try to see things in ways most people choose not to. Everything is based on choices; you choose to be angry, you choose to be friends with the people you dislike, you choose to be in a situation you may not like, etc. Everything you do is a choice, and blaming your circumstances on anyone but yourself is just ignorant. I'm so tired of so many people blaming others for their short comings and justifying it with some excuse, when really it's their own choices that got them where they are.
So I choose to see people, sights, life, art, etc. in my own way. I try my best to be the one to see the big picture, plus the small details. Like when it comes to people, most people won't give anyone they've heard "terrible" things about a fair shot. However, I enjoy giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and choose not to judge them for anything they may or may not have done in the past. People need to learn not to judge others on previous mistakes, because when it comes right down to it, we've all made a couple mistakes we'd rather consider lessons learned. So next time you hear something about someone, take it in, but look at it in a different view. You could see it as the person telling you these "wrongs" of another as their own choice to see that person in the light which they have actually reflected upon themselves.
I am straying away from my main concept, sorry. Anyways, when it comes to sights, and scenes we think just because we've seen something so many times it's not the same as the first glance we took. But everything, every single, little, sight is beautiful. I took this picture from my crappy but highly reliable cell phone. It's from the summer time and I just stumbled upon it today, it was taken at Heritage Park, wayyy in the back near the marshy areas. It looks a lot more beautiful than one would expect from a little marsh in the back of a Taylor park. But thats my whole point, when you simply see something from a different perspective, you can find the most amazing thing you've set eyes on. Life can be beautiful, if you just change the way you see EVERYTHING. Try it, you might be surprised how easily it comes to you.

All the words of my mind...

So lately I have been meaning to draw for a night and get some more art on here. HOWEVER, I have been lacking creative motivation. It is so unfortunate, if you've ever experienced, I know you can agree. So last night after I spent some time in Ann Arbor I felt that maybe the motivation would come back to me. Sorry to say, it did not. Then at about 5AM I realized, it's got nothing to do with a feeling or anything of the sort, you have to push yourself, no one or thing or person is going to get the motivation going for you. So I just wrote in different fonts, and stuff to get my creativity on a page, everything I felt or thought I put on this paper, and it all intertwines in an odd way, which I did on purpose. Because art is a lot like life, everything and everyone intertwines in an odd way everyday. I have a lot on my mind, things about my future. Things about my friends and if some of them are truly worth the stress they cause to my life and my mind. And about life in general and how to stay positive even when all I wanna do is scream and yell at people and tell them what fools they are. Instead of yelling and releasing my anger which will only make any matter worse, I'm just gonna write out everything I'm thinking and feeling in different ways now. Because I just don't wanna be an angry person towards others anymore, that ship has long set sail. OH and I wanna say Congrats to my sister for getting some of her Robots into a Drawger show. I hope today is a good day, for myself and for all that stumble across my blog.

Peace of my mind.

If you do not know me, or have only met me once briefly, you wouldn't know that I can have quite the temper. I am what most would refer to as a 'hot head', I have never been very good with expressing my anger. I have always tried many ways to keep my wrath at bay, chain smoking, eating, counting back from 10, etc. But nothing ever seemed to help. Up until most recently when I became curious about the philosophy of Buddhism, I say philosophy because I see it as more of a philosophy rather than a religion. So I began researching it, and now am reading a book on it by Steve Hagen, called Buddhism: Plain and Simple. And just reading and looking into all this Buddhism stuff has already made me a less angry person. I know it sounds crazy, how can just reading a book make you less angry, right? But if you ever look into the wonderful art of Buddhism, you'll see it makes so much sense. It's all about karma, and doing good even when people aren't good to you. Because when it all comes down to it, we only walk this earth for some time, and it can be cut short at any moment, so we need to really be good, humble, helpful, nice people while we have the chance; So that one day we're not laying there on our death bed saying, "I wish I wouldn't have kept all those grudges and been so mean to so many people". Honestly, right now, think of all the fights and arguments you've been in. Now, how would you feel if that person you're so "mad" at died tomorrow? Would you really feel okay with the fact you never got to say sorry, that they went out thinking you "hated" them? I hope most of you answer No to that, because it's very true. Half the battles, wars, fights, arguments of our lives...they just aren't worth it. So I, Shelby, am turning over a new leaf, and I really find it working most the time. Instead of yelling at someone for lying to me or doing me wrong, I just say thats their choice, my choice is to stay in a good state of mind and not let their wrongs affect me.
Also, today I was thinking about this "smoking ban" thats coming into play on May 1st and I say BULLSHIT. Sure it's a great idea and second hand smoke is deadly, but what about all the accidents that happen from drunks? Why aren't they banning drinking in bars? OH thats right, cause the government gets more money off of it, my bad. However, because I'm highly P.O.'d
about this "ban" I made an event on Facebook for Michigan Smokers Day, the day before the ban I plan to smoke in every place I am able to smoke in, I'm going to chain smoke allllll day long, till my lungs turn black, because it's the one last day I can in most places. That all being said, Thanks for taking your time out to read and hopefully I'll have some art up tomorrow, I know I know, I'm really slackin'.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. "

A great quote from the end of the first Lord Of The Rings movie: The Fellowship Of The Ring. From a great wizard, most fans of the trilogy know as Gandalf. Most recently I have spent a great amount of time with my eldest sister, Chelsea Kirchoff. We are pretty much two peas in a pod, and spend a lot of our time watching and or reciting lines from the LOTR movies. This quote is one of the bigger ones that always sticks out at me, everytime I hear it. It just really speaks for us all, it's pretty much the answer to life, in my eyes. Why worry about what happens after life or what happened before our lives, it's all about enjoying and deciding ourselves; what to do with our time here on earth. Couldn't have said it better myself if I tried even my hardest, wise words from a wise wizard. So here is a quick charcoal sketch I did of the Wonderful Wizard, ENJOY.

Heart of your world

Recently I finished a wonderful little picture, took me quite sometime because of the background but overall, it was well worth the time and effort put forth. I have found that I really enjoy doing pieces with color, I think that color is the best way to go. Mainly because black and white is just so boring; in my opinion. I mean don't get me wrong, I do love a good sketch with values in charcoal and or just pencil, But color is better to work with, better to blend, and just overall BETTER. Anyways, here is the great picture I can thank for the blister on my thumb:)