The universe certainly has a way of sending clear signs...
So yesterday, after posting in the Alien Romulus thread a quick rough doodle of a xeno head, I realised I'd forgotten how happy/relaxing art can be; as a teen/pre-reen, I used to sketch and draw all of the time (mostly xenos copied from dark horse comics)... it was a passion... then life happened, and I've never really picked up a pencil for the last 25 years, beyond doodling with a biro in lectures when bored a few years back.. The thought crossed my mind now and then the last couple of years about trying to learn how to colour in layers on photoshop etc, but as quick as the thought came I'd be wrapped up in whatever was happening in the moment (work/uni/health) and forget about it... yesterday, even though it was only a quick two minutes, felt so calming and... well, happy.. to be sketching a xeno again. I told my partner I was thinking of starting art again, maybe once my PhD thesis is wrapped up this year...
Anyways, that got me thinking about lots of (kind of unrelated) things I hadn't thought about in years... a had a teacher in primary/junior school.. he was the art teacher... (now this may sound weird in current age/climate, but back then we knew all the teachers in first name basis, and they were more like friends... our school was close like that) he was like a father figure to me, always invested a lot of time.. he used to loan me Star Trek /sci fi VHS tapes etc (which is how a got into a lot of stuff) he made me a Blake's 7 federation handgun in his spare time etc, and as I got older into teens, we kept contact and (as fellow video collectors) would look out for titles each other were missing and do trades etc... anyways, like with lots of things, at some point in late teens, life happened, I ended up hanging with friends a lot, going out..eventually met someone and moved away..I don't even remember when it happened, but at some point, I just stopped visiting (it never crossed my mind at the time) and I've never seen him in 20-odd years.. but it was on my mind yesterday... probably triggered by thinking about art..and I was telling my fiancée about him, and pondering (hoping!) he was still alive, as id love to have a catch up one I finish uni etc... random thoughts, random convo...
Just a minute ago, I received a text from my mother out of the blue..never mentioned any of this to her at any point) she told me back at my hometown, she just bumped into him and his wife at the marina cafe... he was looking at the art on the walls and said to my mother "Jonathan(that's me) and I could fill these walls between us.. does he still enjoy doing art?"
If that wasn't the universe sending a message literally a day later, I'm not sure what is. 😊 Think it's time to set aside some time to sketch (and catch up with friends!)
