Why can't I be you?

some of my favourite people are artists. by this you can take it i'm referring to visual artists, people who can seperate themselves from reality for a short spell and create something so effortlessly... but leave countless other people marvelling at what they've created, looking for some kind of hidden meaning in the piece.

i have much, much respect for musicians, writers, and other artists but there's something about true "artists" that make me want to kiss them (ha ha ha). i think part of it is the fact that i'm completely useless when it comes to drawing, or painting, or anything like that - recently i've been trying to become an artist in my own right by sketching and brainstorming but most of the stuff i come up with is heavily text-based or centred on ideas. it doesn't necessarily require any technical skill, it's just a way for  me to express myself and get an idea across in a way that is less two dimensional than simply writing it. my admiration for people who can draw or paint probably comes from my inability to do the same.

anyway, my point is that i love to make friends with artists and find them endlessly fascinating, and as such some of my artists friends decide to draw me! i think being captured even in just a sketch is the most flattering thing, and i probably could never tire of it. i also have a lot of followers on tumblr who are artists, so between my friends + followers, a few of them have created some interesting images. some of them are fun, some of them are extremely realistic, and all of them carry the stamp of the artist that drew them simply in their individual style.

JXR

Once I Start I Can't Help Myself

It's not surprising now, is it, that i've finally caved in and decided to get a REAL blog. by this i'm referring to the fact that for years, i've had tumblr and thought of it just as a means to convey important information, broadcast things, learn more about different people and to enjoy myself, basically. i never got it for a "serious" reason.

also, i never, never wanted to be seen as a "blogger" or someone who adopted that name as some kind of job, as if keeping a diary is actually a job (or as my past self would muse, probably adding "AS IF!!!!" into that thought process)

as it turns out, i'm a hypocrite. over time my tumblr turned into something much more personal, and i began to connect with people i'd only ever heard of other people doing. only this week did i go to sydney and stay with someone i now consider one of my best friends to see some amazing bands (including one of my favourites - ceremony) and meet some other incredibly individuals. all of this would not have been possible were it not for tumblr. as trite as that sounds, it's completely true and this is one of those cases where the internet actually made my life better instead of making it worse and turning me into an uncreative, grey pool of sludge.

for a little while i've thought to myself - "well if i'm using tumblr in such a way, and using it beyond just a hobby (i'm the editor of vaein zine and started the only adelaide street style blog, styledownsouth, which is why i'm talking like this) i might as well do it properly." and this is where blogspot comes in! i've seen some amazing blogspots and think it's the best place to actually start a real blog, yknow, with writing and introspection and diary-like posts that can be read without a mulititude of gifs and inside jokes clouding my vision. yes, that was a reference to tumblr and no, i don't care. i personally believe that 85% of tumblrs are rubbish but the remaining are awesome, whereas blogspot is much more consistent in quality.

i have a few posts in mind that would be interesting to read, but for now i'm going to leave this: my intro post. hopefully i go somewhere with this instead of leaving it to die!

much love,
JXR