Capricorn

Capricorn

India ink on tea-stained paper with liquid gold highlights.

One more of the zodiacs that I completed over the winter. (I'm also using this for an IF post because it fits so perfectly for the topic "carry".) This one was snapped up immediately. Weirdly enough I find that people really identify with these zodiac pieces. (I wonder why?... Actually, no I don't wonder. Everyone has a zodiac, so it's pretty obvious. Goodness gracious, I better not start rambling.)

I find it really hard to catch the richness of the color and texture in a photo, not just for this piece but also for all my pieces. So I try all sorts of different angles, and it still doesn't quite work. But it does catch those metallic, gold highlights (maybe, I think?). Maybe processing the photos into web compatible files loses some of those details.

Anyway! Look! Look! The gold is all over the red cloak where the yellow shows!

And here it's in the headdress! (Sorry the photo's at an angle but I wanted to catch those shimmers.)

But (hoorah!) you can definitely see it in the water here!

Capricorn and The Lemon.

Sketch for Capricorn.

Capricorn detail.

I got too involved with Capricorn. It began very simply, just a woman on a goat, and then came water, then the cloak, and it went much further than I intended. I was hoping to keep this much simpler, not as detailed. I just enjoy the process too much. That's okay. But I have a goal that I'd like to keep to. Which makes me want to rant. . .


Some force out there is working very hard at trying to keep me down. If it's not one thing then it's another. With the absolutely rotten year I had in '08, I was hoping that with 2009 the luck would change. Nope. Wishful thinking. Kaplooie! The lemon (that's the vehicle) crapped out. After dropping it off to get it looked at, I found out this morning that there are so many things wrong with it, and the past few months of driving destroyed the brand new tires I bought less than 7 months ago. Well, I could get it running again properly, if I put a few grand into it. Yes that's it!

I'll go find the magic money tree,
and have it rain 100 dollar bills on me!

I rely on this monkey cart to get me to work everyday (45 min each way), and have been borrowing my father's vehicle over the last month, but he needs it back, which is understandable. So what do I do now?

Well, let's see,

A) I could hitchhike to work, or

B) I could force the car to drive to work, park it there, and sleep in it, though I'm not sure how I would take showers in the sink.

C) I could buy a used motorcycle with the bit of moola back from taxes. Though come winter that would be an issue.

D) Quit my job and live in a cave in the woods, hunting and gathering.

Hmmmm, other options.... Anyone?

The direct impact of this conundrum is putting quite the cramp into getting the store up and running. If funds are being directed at the lemon, then there are no funds being directed elsewhere. Oh the joys of life!

Not to despair!
I shall the lemon repair!

And all will be quite fair,
as I stray from my lair,
like a proud legionnaire
riding my bronze mare.

Encounter, I will, a sight that is rare,
a raging, thrice horned bear,
that I duel, and ensnare
in a web of golden horsehair. . .