So ... side business??

Yeah, so I was bored at work, as is a fairly common occurrence, and I just grabbed this little pad of paper, whipped out a blue ball point pen, and went at it, with no real idea at what I was trying to create. At first, it was just going to be an eye or a sketchily-drawn portrait of no one in particular, but gradually it became this:

In case you're wondering, that's a water droplet ... probably.

Considering my tools, not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I remember nodding in approval as I filled in certain areas, and I was so focused on creating this masterpiece that I didn't realize that I had gained an audience. And then somehow, I was asked to design two tattoos for my coworkers ... and they offered to pay me.

Okay, so while this may seem fairly commonplace for an artist, um ... this is the first time I was offered compensation for any of my art. It was a little bizarre, actually. Sure, I've done a couple of expos, and some of my pieces were printed in my high school and college literary magazines, but that's not the same thing.

Anyway, I agreed and went about creating the first one from a sample image that my friend gave me; I went a different direction with the art, opting for ancient Egyptian influence (except for a yin yang symbol) and arrived at this:

The basic version, without personalization. Also, symmetry is HARD.

It was so much fun trying to incorporate Egyptian iconography - the disc behind the yin yang represents the sun, as does the circle above the cobra's head, and the stylized falcon wings were influenced by several statuettes I researched, and ... I should stop now because that would take forever - and I was a tad bit sad when I realized that I was pretty much done with it.

I completed two versions, which is posted on the tattoo designs page, and then went onto start the second tattoo: a Celtic cross with a lily (plus three lily buds) and a hibiscus. As I sat down with a ruler and a protractor - two things I thought I'd probably never use outside of a math class - I had kind of an epiphany.

I could start a portfolio and see if I could do this for some extra cash! Not really a novel idea, but I got super excited and terrified. Plus, even if I were to start job searching when I finally get up to Kentucky by the end of the month, there wouldn't be a guarantee that I could find anything quickly. I know, I am rationalizing my desire to be a profesh artist and author, but this is the first real opportunity that I've had to get some exposure.

So I guess I should start pinning my style down now, right??