Hello old friend, it feels like it's been an [i]eternity.[i/] Goodness how long were we down there? Has it really been 2 years we've been struggling through these dark and dangerous valleys? I should have heeded their warnings and packed more talismans and butterbiscuits...

Anyhow, I was perusing my art folder months ago and saw there was no folder for 2014 or 2015, and it made me sad in a way nothing else does. Like when I can't recall dreams for weeks on end. Though it was a necessary hiatus as I was going through some serious introspection and wandered pretty far out into the ocean... Long story short, painting just isn't very easy when you're confronted by the sheer horror and beauty of reality every single day, haha!! I've since grown to appreciate the bizarre and mysterious nature of everything, and life has just been thrilling.

That itch to travel to strange and faraway places in our world is all I can focus on sometimes. I suppose it's apparent in the themes I draw upon in my art, the wide open vistas and reoccurring wandering nomad. Here they are again, having found the perfect spot for a relaxing smoke after navigating the dark and dire valleys, softly gazing across the strange landscape towards the next peak.

[i]"Ahhh if only I had wings, I could simply glide all the way there. How easy to avoid all those thorn vines and muckpits, and all those dreadful hobgoblins. Ah well, no use wasting our wishes. *groans* up and off we go..."[i/]

Took 2 days, few hours each day to draw then color. Drawn with hard round brush only, colored with gradients, not something I used to do. Time to try new things.